The New England Patriots have named seven practice players of the week from the 41-3 week 16 victory over the New York Jets. The coaches select the players that best helped the team prepare for their opponent. This week’s winners are LB Trevor Bates, OT Cameron Fleming, RB D.J. Foster, RB Tyler Gaffney, CB Jonathan Jones, DB Brandon King, and TE Matt Lengel.
Practice players of the week: Trevor Bates, Cameron Fleming, D.J. Foster, Tyler Gaffney, Jonathan Jones, Brandon King, Matt Lengel.
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 29, 2016
This is the eighth such award for Foster, a good indicator of his value to the Patriots roster. While Gaffney was asked to play as the Jets running backs in practice, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Foster has been a consistent help for the scout team.
The Jets don’t use tight ends in their offense, so perhaps Lengel received the award for applying his scouting work to a game scenario and reading a defense in the same way as QB Tom Brady, when the two connected for a touchdown pass.
Week 1: RB D.J. Foster, DB Brandon King, DB Jordan Richards, DB Vinnie Sunseri
Week 2: QB Jacoby Brissett, LB Elandon Roberts, DT Woodrow Hamilton
Week 3: TE AJ Derby
Week 5: OG Chris Barker, RB D.J. Foster, TE AJ Derby, DB Eric Rowe, DL Geneo Grissom, DB Vinnie Sunseri
Week 6: ED Trey Flowers, DT Anthony Johnson, RB Bishop Sankey, WR DeAndrew White
Week 7: DT Malcom Brown, RB Tyler Gaffney, OG Ted Karras, DB Brandon King, DB Jordan Richards, and WR DeAndrew White
Week 8: S Nate Ebner, OT Cameron Fleming, RB D.J. Foster, ED Geneo Grissom, CB Cyrus Jones, WR Devin Lucien, LB Trevor Reilly, S Jordan Richards, and WR DeAndrew White
Week 11: LB Trevor Bates, RB D.J. Foster, DE Geneo Grissom, TE Matt Lengel, LB Trevor Reilly, WR DeAndrew White
Week 12: CB Justin Coleman, RB D.J. Foster, QB Jimmy Garoppolo, CB Jonathan Jones, OG Ted Karras, DT Woodrow Hamilton, LB Trevor Reilly, and LB Kyle Van Noy
Week 13: CB Justin Coleman, OG Chase Farris, RB D.J. Foster, ED Geneo Grissom, FB Glenn Gronkowski, CB Cyrus Jones, and LB Barkevious Mingo
Week 14: S Nate Ebner, RB D.J. Foster, ED Geneo Grissom, OG Ted Karras, DB Brandon King, TE Matt Lengel, OT LaAdrian Waddle
Week 15: ED Geneo Grissom, FB Glenn Gronkowski, LB Barkevious Mingo, SS Jordan Richards, OT LaAdrian Waddle, and WR DeAndrew White