FOXBORO, Mass. — New England Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe at least got a chance to work with starters in Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp practice.

The battle between Zappe and expected starter Mac Jones still doesn’t seem like much of a competition based on their play on the field. But Zappe did get some work with New England’s starting offensive line and pass-catchers.

Jones went 3-of-7 in his first round of 11-on-11s in a series that saw a failed screen, a throwaway and a pass batted by defensive tackle Christian Barmore. Then Zappe came in with the backups and went 3-of-6. New England rotated in starters, and Zappe stayed on the field to go 5-of-5 with a sack. Third-stringer Trace McSorely took over with the scout team to go 3-of-4. Jones finished things off with the starting offensive line and backup pass-catchers to go 6-of-6.

What does it mean? Probably nothing. Here’s what head coach Bill Belichick had to say at the start of organized team activities about spring practices not being about “stars and starters”:

“We're working different combinations of groups together, different guys, different rotations, it's not necessarily coordinated," Belichick said last month. "One group might go over four plays, another group might go over three plays, one group might go over two plays, it depends on how many people we have in there and things like that. However it falls, it falls. It's not about that; it's really about everybody getting experience in the system and getting comfortable playing with new teammates and the communication and just like I said, sharpening our skills up out there.”

Overall, Jones was 9-of-13 in 11-on-11s and 18-of-25 with an interception overall. Zappe was 8-of-11 in 11s and 13-of-21 overall. McSorely was 3-of-4 in 11s and 7-of-10 overall.

More observations from Tuesday’s session:

— The following players were absent:

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
WR Tyquan Thornton
WR Kayshon Boutte
G Mike Onwenu
DT Lawrence Guy
DT Justus Tavai
DE Keion White
DB Quandre Mosely

Guy’s absence reportedly is contract-related.

— Trent Brown was back at practice Tuesday after missing Monday’s session. He was limited, however.

— Adding to the list of special guests since spring practices began, former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was in attendance.

— Cornerback Jack Jones intercepted Mac Jones in 7-on-7s on a target to tight end Hunter Henry. Cornerback Shaun Wade had a pass breakup in 7-on-7s over wide receiver Tre Nixon. Safety Joshuah Bledsoe had pass breakups over wide receiver Raleigh Webb in 7-on-7s and over tight end Anthony Firkser in 11-on-11s. Rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez broke up a pass intended for rookie wide receiver Malik Cunningham.

— Working with quarterbacks during special-teams drills: Henry and fellow tight end Scotty Washington.

— Tuesday’s punt returners: Defensive backs Myles Bryant and Marcus Jones and rookie wide receiver Ed Lee. Lee and rookie cornerback Ameer Speed caught kickoffs.

— Defensive back Jonathan Jones got some work at deep safety in 7-on-7s. Bryant also got some work there. Count them among Jabrill Peppers, Jalen Mills, Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Bledsoe and Marte Mapu as players who have taken reps at Devin McCourty’s old position. It seems like New England could have a rotation coming at that position to replace a team legend. Jonathan Jones has now worked at outside cornerback, in the slot and at safety. He might have the best speed and range out of any player listed above. He played safety in the Patriots' Super Bowl LIII win over the Los Angeles Rams. It was speculated that Jones could move to safety since New England now has a multitude of starting-caliber cornerbacks. Now it looks like an actual possibility.

— Cunningham, a college quarterback, gave the Patriots’ defense a chance to see some read-option looks during a walk-through period.

— 2023 fourth-round pick Jake Andrews finally got some work with the top unit as Onwenu continues to nurse an injury. Andrews played next to David Andrews in Onwenu’s right guard role. Jake Andrews looks small for a guard, especially in comparison to Onwenu.

— The Patriots practiced a drill where receivers catch the ball and try to juke a defender. It was notable to see Marcus Jones and Jack Jones catching passes.

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