Yesterday, three players were absent from the New England Patriots’ practice session. Today, the team returned to the practice fields and again three players were not part of the session. However, the names have changed.
A look at today’s injury report shows, that starting guard Shaq Mason returned to practice and was removed from the injury report, while tight end Greg Scruggs was a new addition:
Did Not Practice:
RB Brandon Bolden (knee)
LB Jonathan Freeny (shoulder)
TE Greg Scruggs (knee) - was limited on Wednesday
Scruggs did practice yesterday, albeit in limited capacity, but was unable to join his teammates for today’s session. According to multiple reports, he was spotted on crutches during the locker room media availability prior to practice, so his absence does not come as a surprise.
Bolden and Freeny missed yesterday’s practice as well. The chances of the two making Sunday’s game day roster do not look very good from the current standpoint, which means that D.J. Foster and Elandon Roberts might see valuable snaps once again.
The list of absent players saw one change, the list of limited players as well:
TE Martellus Bennett (ankle)
RB LeGarrette Blount (hip)
OT Marcus Cannon (calf)
LB Jamie Collins (hip) - new addition to the list
WR Julian Edelman (foot)
QB Jimmy Garoppolo (right shoulder)
TE Rob Gronkowski (hamstring)
LB Dont’a Hightower (knee)
LB Shea McClelling (concussion)
WR Malcolm Mitchell (hamstring)
OG Joe Thuney (shoulder)
DT Vincent Valentine (back)
Jamie Collins has not been spotted on the injury report this season - until now. Apparently, the Pro Bowler has suffered a hip injury since yesterday; one, that is not severe enough to keep him out of practice, though. Still, with him being an every-down linebacker and Dont’a Hightower still on a limited snapcount, the situation needs to be monitored closely by the team.
One name not on the list is starting right guard Shaq Mason. He missed yesterday’s practice due to non-football related reasons but was back as a full participant today.