FOXBORO -- Whether it's a training camp practice or a preseason game, it's the same old story for Jimmy Garoppolo: He's not getting much warning about how many snaps he'll play.
That was the case last Wednesday when the Patriots practiced inside Gillette Stadium in front of more than 23,000 fans and Garoppolo was unaware that he would get the vast majority of reps behind center until it happened.
It looks like that will be the case once again when the Packers visit New England for the preseason opener for both clubs.
"Good question. I don’t know," Garoppolo said when asked about his workload in New England's first exhibition game. "We’ll find out Thursday. You know how that goes. I really have no idea."
Regardless of the number of snaps Garoppolo will play, the Patriots will have one more day to prepare in order to put together a competitive performance versus Green Bay.
Tom Brady will miss at least a portion of Wednesday's final preparations as he's scheduled to be in Manhattan to update judge Richard Berman on the settlement discussions between his team and that of the NFL on Wednesday morning. Brady missed Tuesday's practice for reasons related to Wednesday's events, according to ESPN Boston.
And with newly-acquired third-string quarterback Ryan Lindley is still new to the Patriots system, Garoppolo seems to be in line to see plenty of action.
New England Patriots
"It’s awesome to get back out there," Garoppolo said. "Practice is fun and everything but the games is what we play for and it’s exciting. Thursday is going to be fun."
Tuesday's practice appeared to be less than enjoyable, though Garoppolo wore a smile while speaking to reporters after the fact. In one of the sloppiest practices the Patriots have put together during this training camp, and the offense in particular struggled throughout. Several passes were dropped and both Garoppolo and Lindley struggled with their accuracy.
Garoppolo went 22-for-36 during team drills, but he was intercepted twice -- once by Tavon Wilson and once by Devin McCourty -- on back-to-back attempts. During a 7-on-7 period, there was one rep where Garoppolo couldn't find an open receiver and eventually the play was blown dead as Garoppolo continued to scan the field. On another snap, he overthrew an open Danny Amendola in the back of the end-zone. On others, he under-threw Jonas Gray and Brandon GIbson, leading to incompletions.
Of course, Garoppolo had some positive moments as well. One of his best throws of the day came on a wheel route with running back James White running under the football deep down the sideline. Another accurate strike came when Garoppolo hit Rob Gronkowski in the end zone with a back-shoulder throw for a touchdown.
The conditions in Foxboro, where thunderstorms touched down sporadically, were not ideal for throwing. But Garoppolo didn't make that excuse following the session.
"There was some tough parts but we have to deal with the conditions better than that, overall, as a team," Garoppolo said. "It’s good to practice in them and get used to them."
After one particularly difficult 11-on-11 practice period, Garoppolo and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels walked over to an unused practice field where McDaniels demonstratively coached his young pupil.
Though it's unclear how much playing time Garoppolo will get -- "We'll probably talk about that [on Wednesday]," Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters Tuesday -- he figures to factor in to Thursday's game in a significant way.
When he does, the weather -- the forecast calls for sunny skies during the day and temperatures around 80 degrees -- shouldn't be an issue, as it appeared to be on Tuesday.
"It wasn’t terrible," Garoppolo said. "The conditions, they are what they are. It’s New England so you have to deal with a bunch of different stuff so you just have to come out here and do what we do, really."