Patriots Blog: Everyone Practices, Belichick Sees Progress
FOXBORO (CBS) - The New England Patriots had perfect attendance on the field Thursday in their final practice of the week before hosting the Denver Broncos in the playoffs.
Not only was everyone on the field for New England, but a few players even had their name removed from the Practice Participation and Injury Report.
Tom Brady, Patrick Chung, Julian Edelman, Matt Light and Devin McCourty were all removed from Thursday's list after being limited on Wednesday.
Offensive Tackle Marcus Cannon was the only addition to the list on Thursday, as he was limited in practice with an ankle issue.
Thursday marks the second time this week the Patriots had perfect attendance at practice. Kyle Love was the lone Patriot to miss Wednesday, which was not injury related.
The following Patriots were "limited" at practice on Thursday:
CB Kyle Arrington (foot)
OT Marcus Cannon (ankle)
C Dan Connolly (groin)
LB Dane Fletcher (thumb)
S James Ihedigbo (shoulder)
G Logan Mankins (knee)
LB Rob Ninkovich (hip)
WR Matthew Slater (shoulder)
LB Brandon Spikes (knee)
OT Sebastian Vollmer (back/foot)
WR Wes Welker (knee)
LB Tracy White (abdomen)
The Pats should get Mankins back after he sprained his MCL against the Miami Dolphins in Week 16. When asked about the injury, Mankins said he is improving but no decision has been made on whether he'll suit up Saturday night.
"It felt good to move around a little bit out there. It's still day-to-day," said Mankins. "We'll see, no word yet. One day at a time. We'll see what happens."
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about Mankins, and said all the New England's injured players are improving.
"I think we've seen progress out of everybody. All the guys are out there working. I think each one of them is making progress," said Belichick. "We'll see how things go here after stringing these days together. We'll probably have some game-time decisions. There's definitely – a lot of these guys are close. They're getting better."
The Patriots will hold a walk-through on Friday.
Tune in to the Patriots-Broncos playoff game Saturday night at 8pm on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV. Pregame coverage begins Saturday at 5pm with Patriots Preview on 98.5, with a special edition of Patriots GameDay on WBZ-TV at 7pm. After the game, stay tuned for Patriots Postgame on The Hub, and Patriots 5th Quarter on WBZ-TV.
