Patriots rookie Chasen Hines clears non-football injury list as third week of training camp begins

The New England Patriots returned to the practice fields in full pads on Monday afternoon, and with rookie interior lineman Chasen Hines.

The sixth-round draft pick has been cleared from the non-football injury list, head coach Bill Belichick confirmed as the team began its third week of training camp.

Hines, 22, had been placed on the list as rookies reported to Gillette Stadium on July 19. The 6-foot-3, 310-pound LSU product’s SEC career spanned 35 games and 17 starts at the guard spots. A converted defensive tackle and 2019 national champion, Hines earned an invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl on the way to arriving at No. 210 overall.

His passed physical made the NFL transaction wire.

“I’d say the big thing would be this year working with our strength and conditioning staff, I feel like our team is as healthy as it’s ever been at this time of the year,” Belichick told reporters. “A part of that, I think, has a lot to do with the offseason program and the way guys have worked. And maybe part of it has to do with the way we’ve practiced. But we really have had very little in the way of players missing time. Players on PUP, NFI, we’ve pretty much cleared that up today, which last year, we had like six or seven guys in that category, plus another variety of things.”

Seventh-round offensive lineman Andrew Stueber out of Michigan remains on the non-football injury list for the Patriots. Additionally, veteran running back and team captain James White remains on physically unable to perform after finishing last year on injured reserve following hip surgery.

New England opens the 2022 preseason against the New York Giants on Thursday. Kickoff in Foxborough is set for 7 p.m. ET.