Patriots rookie Andrew Stueber debuts at practice while working back from non-football injury list

As punter Jake Bailey returned to the Gillette Stadium backfields on Wednesday, so did a member of the New England Patriots’ 2022 draft class.

Offensive lineman Andrew Stueber’s 21-day practice window has officially opened, according to the NFL transaction wire.

Stueber, 23, had been placed on the non-football injury list as rookies reported back to Foxborough for training camp in July. While recovering from a reported hamstring tear, his status shifted from active to reserve at the league’s 80-man roster deadline in August. If that move had been made at the 85-man roster deadline, he would not have been eligible to practice this year.

The 6-foot-6, 325-pound Michigan product now debuts with three weeks remaining in the regular season.

Selected in the seventh round at No. 245 overall, Stueber started 22 games between right guard and right tackle for the Wolverines. He was named a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and a second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association as a graduate student in 2021.

New England hosts the Cincinnati Bengals for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday.