After no on-field work on Wednesday, the New England Patriots returned to the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium today for their third organized team activity workout of the week. While the voluntary session was closed to the media – as opposed to the last one on Tuesday –, the team's photographers were still allowed to follow the action and take some pictures to be uploaded to patriots.com.
While the photo gallery does not reveal too much, it can be seen that one prominent member of the team returned to action today:
Dont'a Hightower was back on the field at OTAs today, according to pics posted on the Patriots website. He was absent from the practice we watched Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/lfQhdaL8pL
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) May 24, 2018
After missing Tuesday's practice for undisclosed reasons, linebacker and defensive team captain Dont'a Hightower was back in action today. According to photos from the workout, the 28-year old participated both in individual work and team drills. In one picture from the session, he can be seen wearing the green dot on his helmet that marks him as the lone defensive player to wear a communication device in his helmet.
Hightower being back on the field is obviously good news for the Patriots, no matter the reason why he actually was absent two days ago. After all, the veteran missed the majority of last season because of a shoulder injury that forced the team to place him on injured reserve in November. Getting Hightower back should be a big boost to a defense that struggled down the stretch.