For the past six years, the New England Patriots brought some additional competition to their training camp practices. Each summer, the club teamed up with at least one other organization to conduct joint sessions leading up to a preseason contest between the two sparring partners. In 2017, for example, the Patriots practiced jointly with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.
When the preseason slate was released earlier this offseason, two teams were identified as potential training camp partners: Considering that the Patriots hold their joint sessions before either the first or the second preseason game – the third is more of a “dress rehearsal” and involves actual game planning –, it looked like the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles were serious candidates to visit Gillette Stadium ahead of the scheduled contests.