Patriots practice update: Previously injured players spotted at Christmas eve walkthrough

Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Related: Tom Brady says his elbow injury ‘won’t be an issue’ going forward

The New England Patriots were back on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium on Tuesday for their first on-field workout of the week. While the team held only a light walkthrough in sweats accompanied by Christmas songs, there were some encouraging developments: a group of previously injured players was spotted during the early portions open to members of the media.

Offensive tackle Marcus Cannon and cornerback Jason McCourty were present for the walkthrough after leaving last Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Bills due to ankle and groin injuries, respectively. Also spotted were cornerback Jonathan Jones, who had missed the game altogether after hurting his groin one week earlier against the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as wide receiver Julian Edelman and quarterback Tom Brady.

While Edelman missed two series against the Bills while being evaluated for a possible head injury, and has also been dealing with knee and shoulder injuries as of late, Brady was removed from the injury report last week for the first time since mid-November — the 42-year-old had been dealing with a shoulder injury that has been described as a tennis arm but according to the man himself will be “no issue going forward.”

Needless to say that seeing those five players present for the session is an encouraging development, even if it was just a walkthrough: they will, after all, play considerable roles for the Patriots during the postseason even though their availability — especially in the case of Cannon, McCourty and Jones — for Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins remains up in the air as of right now.

The Patriots’ first injury report of the week will add more context to today’s walkthrough when it gets released on Wednesday. Of course, the team itself will enjoy a day off on Christmas so any injury updates at that point are merely estimations. New England will return to work on Thursday to resume its usual schedule heading into the weekend.

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