For the first time since early October, the New England Patriots have a weekend off. They are still on a tight schedulebut will use the time to do two things: get ready to play whoever they will meet on January 16 and – most importantly –get healthy.
The team has been plagued by injuries on both sides of the ball and limped towards the playoffs, especially after it was clear that the team has earned the AFC's number two seed and a first-round playoff bye. It seems that the team is slowly getting healthier, though, if today's walkthrough practice session is an indicator.
According to various media reports, the following players, who have all suffered injuries during the regular season, were present for today's walkthrough:
WR Danny Amendola
QB Tom Brady
SS Patrick Chung
CB Justin Coleman
WR Julian Edelman
LB Jonathan Freeny
LB Dont'a Hightower
DE Chandler Jones
DE Rob Ninkovich
OT Sebastian Vollmer
OT LaAdrian Waddle
Starting free safety Devin McCourty was not spotted by members of the Patriots' beat but could very well have been present for the session. After all, he was active for last Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins and no injury was announced during the game.
Overall, it seems as if New England is on its way to enter the playoffs at full strength, although we won't officially know each player's respective injury status until the team releases its first injury report next week. Still, to see all those players present for today's session is a very encouraging sign.