The New England Patriots hope to have all (still available) hands on deck on Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs. After all, the team saw an incredibly talented early season roster get decimated by injuries almost on a weekly basis. Now, with the playoffs right around the corner and after a much needed bye week, the Patriots are slowly getting healthier: today marked the second straight day, New England had 52 of 53 active players on the practice field.
The one player missing, at least for the media portion of the session: star tight end Rob Gronkowski. Until the Patriots release their first injury report of the week tomorrow, we will not officially know why Gronkowski missed at least the early parts of today's session, which was held in full pads and once again outside Gillette Stadium.
While one key member of the Patriots offense was absent, one key member of the Patriots special teams units returned: safety Nate Ebner, who missed yesterday's session with an arm injury (his arm was seen in a cast the last few days) was back on the practice fields today.
New England will hold two more practice sessions this week, tomorrow and on Thursday.