Jimmy Garoppolo tries to stay sharp — just in case

FOXBOROUGH — After splitting reps with Tom Brady during Friday's OTA workout behind Gillette Stadium, Jimmy Garoppolo acted as if nothing has changed, even though he may be the Patriots' starting quarterback when the season begins.

Unless Brady's four-game suspension is rescinded or reduced, the Patriots will be without him for the first quarter of the season, and would turn to Garoppolo, who appeared in six games last season as a rookie. But Garoppolo didn't admit to even thinking about it.

"I just have the mind-set of trying to get better; that's all you can control," Garoppolo said. "I'm just going out to practice every day trying to improve, trying to get my teammates better, me better. We'll go from there."

Garoppolo said he has spent much of the offseason in California, throwing with "just a couple of receivers" (Julian Edelman said he's been one of them). The Patriots conducted three OTAs this week, and have three more scheduled for next week, then four the week of June 8-12. Minicamp is June 16-18.

Despite the uncertainty of Brady's situation — his appeal will be heard June 23 by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell — Garoppolo said he has learned plenty from the player ahead of him on the depth chart, both on the field and off.

"Being in the league for a year, obviously that experience, seeing guys ahead of you, what they do, and how they take care of their bodies, it's a long season," said Garoppolo.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the OTAs give everyone on the roster, quarterbacks included, equal opportunity. Brady, Garoppolo, and Garrett Gilbert took part in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills (under league rules, no contact is permitted during OTAs).

"We're trying to give everybody an opportunity to learn our system and prepare to compete and play," said Belichick. "The competition will really come in training camp. This is more of a teaching camp than a competitive camp.

"We want to try to give everyone an opportunity to learn and understand the plays and know what to do, and then we'll let them compete in training camp and preseason games and see how it goes. Then it's up to them."

As for Garoppolo, Belichick said he's hoping to see a sophomore surge.

"It helps all rookies to get that first year under their belt," he said. "That's usually where you see the biggest jump generally, with most players, is from year one to year two.

"They understand the system, they've been through it, they've been through the league for a year. So hopefully we see that from our group."

Don’t go there

Even though his star quarterback is facing a suspension and his employer has accepted the NFL's punishment of a $1 million fine and the loss of two draft picks, Belichick had no interest in talking about Deflategate.

Meeting with the media for roughly five minutes after practice, Belichick was asked a number of questions about the controversy that took hold after the team's win in the AFC Championship game.

Question: Has it been tough to watch what's transpired the last few months?

Belichick: "We're just working hard every day to come out here and get better. Coaches, players, everybody in the organization. Each day we're trying to make it a little bit better than the day before. That's where we're at, that's what we're going to keep doing."

Question: Do you agree with team owner Robert Kraft's decision to accept the NFL's discipline?

Belichick: "Yeah, he made a statement on that last week."

Question: Has Deflategate taken anything away from the Super Bowl win?

Belichick: "That was a long time ago. We're on to next year. This is 2015. You can forget about last year. That was last year."

Switching sides

It's a move often seen in high school and college but not so much in the NFL: a player switching sides of the ball. Jake Bequette, who has been a little-used defensive end since being drafted by the Patriots in 2012, has moved to tight end, and worked exclusively with the offense during OTAs this week.

"This is just a chance to help the team in a different way," Bequette said. "Right now I'm just focused on the offensive side of the ball, full time.

"Obviously I have a background playing defense, too, but for right now I'm just going to focus on learning the offense, getting out there and doing it, and improving. It's been fun so far."

Bequette said he was recruited out of high school as a two-way player, and began his career with Arkansas as a tight end before switching to defensive end after his redshirt freshman season.

He worked with the Patriots' offense in goal-line situations during his rookie season, but all eight of his game appearances have been on defense. He spent last season on the team's practice squad. The team suggested that a position change might be best.

"It's been exciting," said Bequette. "Any time you make a change like that, it's somewhat drastic. It's a new challenge. It can enhance what I can bring to the table and hopefully I can get out there on the field.

"I'm not really worried about the future. I'm taking it one day at a time, finding out the nuances of the offense. I'm just trying to create value, get out there and perform."

Guessing game

Almost all of the players took to the practice field with no form of identification. They were in shorts and non-numbered T-shirts, and the numbers on the back of most helmets had been removed. That made it difficult to definitively ascertain who was participating and who was not, but the consensus had these players missing: Jerod Mayo, Chandler Jones, Chris Jones, Sebastian Vollmer, Dont'a Hightower, Brandon LaFell, Malcolm Butler, Matthew Slater, Sealver Siliga, and Alan Branch. Siliga posted a photo to his Instagram account Friday that showed him working out inside Gillette Stadium. LaFell is hosting a youth football camp this weekend in Houston . . . For the first time, reporters observed a drone flying over the field, a decision by the team presumably to film practice. Asked what it provides the team, Belichick said, "I don't know." . . . New assistant special teams coach Ray Ventrone was spotted running wind sprints with kicker Stephen Gostkowski, punter Ryan Allen, and rookie long snapper Joe Cardona near the end of practice. It's still unclear whether Cardona has received permission from the Navy to play football; most Naval Academy graduates are required to serve at least two years of active duty.