Earlier today, the New England Patriots were back on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium. The team held a walkthrough and the attendance looked much better than during the last few weeks as a look at today's injury report shows:
Did not participate
OT Marcus Cannon (ankle)
WR Chris Hogan (shoulder)
Only two members of the Patriots missed today's practice - and both appear to be long shots to play in Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills. New England's offense has proven that it is still able to produce even with Marcus Cannon and Chris Hogan, both nominal starters, absent, so the team can take its time in bringing them back.
Limited participation
WR Danny Amendola (knee)
OC David Andrews (illness)
QB Tom Brady (achilles)
LB Marquis Flowers (knee)
DE Trey Flowers (ribs)
LB Trevor Reilly (concussion)
CB Eric Rowe (groin)
WR Matthew Slater (hamstring)
LB Kyle Van Noy (calf)
OT LaAdrian Waddle (ankle)
Three players returned to practice today, albeit in limited capacity: Tom Brady was back after - for the second straight week - missing Wednesday's session -, as were LaAdrian Waddle and Trevor Reilly. While Brady will play on Sunday, the fate of neither Waddle nor Reilly is decided yet. As reported earlier, however, Waddle is not expected to suit up on Sunday. This, in turn, would mean that New England would have to start its third-string tackle Cameron Fleming.
Seeing Trey Flowers, Marquis Flowers and Kyle Van Noy present for the second straight day is a goid sign for the team’s defense. After all, all three suffered injuries last week against the Miami Dolphins but appear to be on their way to be ready to go versus Buffalo. All three are important parts of New England’s defensive and, particularly in Marquis Flowers’ case, special teams units.