Monday saw the return of what Bill Belichick calls “real football” to Foxborough. It was the New England Patriots’ first fully-padded training camp practice of the year, after spending the last few days in what Belichick calls “an extension of the spring” in terms of it being a teaching and install period.
Now the Patriots are in what is the true “evaluation” period of camp. As Belichick pointed out before practice, it’s not like the coaching staff will put no weight into the work the team did in the spring and for the first few days of camp. At the same time, these reps in full pads give a much more complete image of what players are going to be asked to do come gameday.
With full pads come increased physicality, and with physicality comes the unfortunate reality of injuries. We’ll start there as we take a look at Monday’s practice…
Injuries
Monday’s practice saw multiple players get banged up and have to spend time with the training staff. Some, such as tight end Scotty Washington, guard Chasen Hines, and safety Brad Hawkins. However, guard Cole Strange suffered what appeared to be a left knee injury early in practice, and didn’t return.
Strange’s injury happened early in practice, during positional drills. After a rep against Lawrence Guy Strange slowly walked to the sideline and undid his left knee brace. He then slowly walked back to the athletic training area with a member of the Patriots’ training staff, stopping briefly to chat with Belichick. After spending about 10-15 minutes on the training table he came back onto the field and did some light jogging, then returned to the table again. Towards the end of practice he rejoined the rest of the offensive linemen on the sideline during team drills, but did not take any snaps.
The Patriots are already dealing with a lack of depth on the offensive line, and Strange’s absence would only exacerbate that. His status will be something to watch in the coming days. Christopher Price of The Boston Globe has reported that the injury is “not serious.”