Before leaving Massachusetts to fly to Houston tomorrow, the New England Patriots held one final practice at their Gillette Stadium facilities. It was the last session of the 2016 season that the team held on its home turf.
And, according to Doug Kyed, participation – at least when looking at the active roster – was once again perfect:
Practice squad DT Woodrow Hamilton is the lone absence at Patriots' practice. Nate Ebner (concussion) is in a red non-contact jersey.
Ebner, who leads the Patriots in special teams tackles and appears on all four kicking game units, returned to practice yesterday after he suffered a concussion, his second of the season, during last week’s AFC Championship Game. Seeing him wear a non-contact jersey and the team playing it safe is therefore not a surprise.
As Kyed notes, the only absentee was defensive tackle Woodrow Hamilton. The rookie has missed practice before but with him on the practice squad, the team does not have to list the cause of his absence on the injury report.