Door Opens for Jonas Gray, LeGarrette Blount Fails Physical

Three members of the New England Patriots were placed on the Non-Football Injury reserve list. We have some more color on what happened to running back LeGarrette Blount, offensive lineman Caylinn Hauptmann, and defensive lineman Alan Branch.

Heard that LeGarrette Blount didnt pass the conditioning test yesterday. Had to run 20 sprints of 50 yards under 8 seconds each, only did 12

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) July 30, 2015

Ouch. Players that fail the conditioning test, which took place yesterday, are typically placed on the NFI list until they're able to pass the conditioning test. The fact that Blount was unable to pass his test is definitely worth highlighting because the running back is suspended for the first week of the season.

Last season, Jonas Gray lost his starting spot to Blount after Gray overslept and missed his alarm. Blount took the spot and Gray faded away until he was a healthy scratch for the Super Bowl. Right now, Gray and Tyler Gaffney are two of the most likely replacements for Blount in week 1, so both players have been presented with a golden opportunity.

Gray and Gaffney will have priority snaps until Blount can pass his conditioning test (it was 90 degrees yesterday, it's possible the running back was dehydrated and could very well pass the test shortly), and they'll have the preseason and week 1 to make their case for more time.