FOXBORO — Before uttering a word about football, Patriots coach Jerod Mayo opened his press conference Wednesday morning by honoring the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

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“First of all, today is a day of remembrance for 9/11,” he said. “To all the servicemen, first responders, just want to let them know that we appreciate them. The (team) meeting was a reminder of how old I’m getting, that we have people in the squad room that didn’t live that experience. Everyone in (the media room) did live that experience, and we remember where we were during that experience, and I don’t want that to go unnoticed.”

Mayo later shared that he had long snapper Joe Cardona, the team’s longest-tenured player and a Navy lieutenant, address the team.

“What he talked about was the rallying of all 18-year-olds that really are like, ‘We got to sign up, join the military, protect our nation.’ Joe has two jobs. He has two jobs and football is the second one. The first one is as a serviceman to serve our country. I think all the players in the locker room understand how tough it is for him. At the same time, I have a great appreciation for everything he does.”

Extra points

After Patriots wins, Mayo said the team will announce Practice Players of the Week. This week’s winners were defensive tackle Eric Johnson, outside linebacker Ochaun Mathis, linebacker Joe Giles-Harris, safety A.J. Thomas, quarterback Joe Milton, wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, tight end Mitchell Wilcox and linebacker Curtis Jacobs. … Mayo said he spoke with Patriots captains about last Sunday’s incident involving Miami receiver Tyreek Hill, who was put in handcuffs after being stopped for an alleged traffic violation. “Those guys handled it in the locker room,” he said. … Quarterback Jacoby Brissett said it’s important for the Patriots to find speedy receiver Tyquan Thornton deep, something he tried to do on the opening play of the second half in Cincinnati. “His ability to get down the field at a fast rate, we’ve definitely got to try to make the defense feel like that’s a possibility, obviously when we get chances to hit him.”