Jack Jones, Conor McDermott return to Patriots’ practice; 8 players missing

For the second straight week, Bill Belichick called his players back to Gillette Stadium on Tuesday for an extra day of practice. When they did so, there was plenty of action on the backfields.

Perhaps the biggest news marked the return of cornerback Jack Jones. The 25-year old cornerback landed on the injured reserve after suffering a significant hamstring injury in practice prior to New England’s Week 1 contest.

With his return to the field, the Patriots now have 21 days to activate him to the roster.

In addition to Jones, rookie wide receiver Demario Douglas also returned to the practice fields after missing all of last week while in concussion protocol. While Douglas did return, fellow wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster remained absent after also suffering a head injury against the Dallas Cowboys.

Beyond Smith-Schuster, New England’s absence list was lengthy.

On the offensive side of the ball, veterans Trent Brown, Rhamondre Stevenson, and Hunter Henry were all not spotted. Both Stevenson (head, ankle) and Henry (ankle) were banged up during Sunday’s game in Las Vegas but finished the contest. Brown has recently been limited on New England’s injury report with a chest injury.

Linebackers Josh Uche (foot) and Keion White (head) were also absent during Tuesday’s session after not finishing Sunday’s game. Cornerback Jonathan Jones and defensive lineman Davon Godchaux also were sidelined on Tuesday, two additional players who have been regulars on New England’s injury report of late.

While the Patriots are clearly banged up, it would be no surprise if they were staying on the precautionary side of things with some of their veterans with the extra session on Tuesday.

Outside of the injuries, offensive tackle Conor McDermott made his return to the Patriots on Tuesday. McDermott started six games for New England at right tackle last season and spent the summer with the team before landing on injured reserved.

The 6-foot-8 tackle was then released with an injury settlement meaning he could not be re-signed by the team until after the term of the injury settlement (the number of weeks used to calculate the injury settlement) plus three additional weeks.

Despite being released with the injury settlement on Sept. 8, a locker with the offensive lineman’s name remained in the Patriots dressing room. With New England’s current status along the offensive line, McDermott will rejoin the team on the practice squad and may be called on for game action sooner rather than later.