FOXBOROUGH — Jimmy Garoppolo knows he’s the starting quarterback for New England’s first four regular-season games. As for Thursday night’s exhibition opener?

“I don’t know,’’ Garoppolo said Wednesday after wrapping up a soggy shorts-and-shells joint practice with the Saints. “Your guess is as good as mine.’’

The guess here is that Tom Brady gets the start but delivers nothing more than a cameo appearance before Garoppolo gets the lion’s share of the snaps.

After starting camp like a house on fire, Garoppolo has cooled over the last several practices, which have included a pair of scrimmages and the two sessions with the Saints, Thursday night’s opponent.

The third-year quarterback has completed just about 60 percent of his passes (58 of 104, unofficially) over the last five practices with three interceptions. Garoppolo has made some poor throws but also has been victimized by dropped balls.

He has shown the ability to fire the ball and to put touch on it. He ran a nice two-minute drill toward the end of Wednesday’s practice, alternately zipping and floating the ball to tight end Martellus Bennett during the half-speed possession.

He wasn’t willing to say whether he was satisfied with his camp performance but did say, “We’re moving in the right direction, I’ll say that.’’

Starting or relieving isn’t a big concern for Garoppolo at this point; getting better every day is at the top of his agenda.

“There’s always room for improvement,’’ he said. “As a quarterback, especially as a young quarterback, I’m only going into my third year, so there’s always room for improvement.’’

He’s more concerned with learning from his mistakes than he is with any practice performance.

“Little things here and there, nothing real specific,’’ he said when asked what areas he’d like to improve. “You just want to be sharp, especially tomorrow night when game time comes around.’’

Garoppolo said he hasn’t really thought about how many snaps he needs with the starters to be ready for the season because right now the starters aren’t set in stone. Building a rapport with everybody is the mission.

“It’s tough right now because you don’t know who the first unit is or the second unit is,’’ said Garoppolo, who led the Patriots to a comeback preseason win over the Saints last season in the Superdome.

“I kind of like how Coach [Bill Belichick] does it. We rotate in and out. Injuries are going to happen throughout the year, so you have to be able to play with different guys and adapt to how they play. I think it’s a good situation to put us out there like that.’’

Edelman answers bell

When Julian Edelman wasn’t spotted at the beginning of Wednesday’s practice it was assumed he was taking the day off after his injury scare Tuesday.

But Edelman appeared about five minutes into the workout to the surprise of most in attendance at Gillette Stadium. His arrival was met by a roar that grew louder as he took his spot in drills.

He moved at half speed through the first drill, likely due to a combination of his left foot and the poor footing. He spent some time chatting with a referee who was on hand and then brought another roar when he caught a pass from Tom Brady during individual drills.

Edelman later fielded some punts and chatted up would-be punt returner V’Angelo Bentley before he played a three-way game of catch with Garoppolo and safeties coach Steve Belichick. He later departed to the conditioning fields.

“Julian, he hasn’t been out there as much as everyone would hope, but he came out here and it was good to see him running around,’’ said Garoppolo. “. . . You love to have a guy like that who is a competitor, who is going to fight for you, and you know he cares about the game. It makes you want to play that much better and perform at a higher level just having guys around you like that.’’

Timetable for Ninkovich

As expected, Rob Ninkovich, who tore his triceps in Tuesday’s practice according to ESPN, was not at practice. Ninkovich reportedly does not need surgery and could return in 4-6 weeks. Shea McClellin got most of the work on the left edge in Ninkovich’s absence . . . Shaq Mason took first-team reps at right guard for the first time this summer. He was joined on the top offensive line by David Andrews (center), Joe Thuney (left guard), Nate Solder (left tackle), and Marcus Cannon (right tackle) . . . Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, who was sent to the Saints in the Akiem Hicks trade last season, was glad to be back in town and see some familiar faces. “I had a great three years here and a lot of lasting relationships,’’ he said. “It’s just great to see those guys and coaches. I was very appreciative of those years and what they did for me as a football player and a person.’’ Asked the difference between playing with future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Brady and Drew Brees, Hoo-man quipped, “Tom’s a little taller. That’s about it.’’ . . . Rob Gronkowski, who hasn’t played in an exhibition game since 2012, was asked if he’s planning on being in the lineup Thursday night. “Coach’s decision, baby,’’ he said with a big laugh. “I have no idea. Whatever coach is planning for us. I’m planning on playing the whole game.’’ . . . The first game of the Kraft Era was a 1994 preseason game against the Saints at Foxboro Stadium. The Patriots prevailed in that one, 24-6.

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.