Brandon Spikes was the lone player that stayed away from Gillette Stadium for OTAs, but the starting middle linebacker is back for mandatory minicamp.
Spikes arrived in Foxboro, Mass., on Monday morning, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. Minicamp starts on Monday with physicals and lasts until Thursday. Players will be practicing Tuesday through Thursday.
Spikes chose to work out at Bommarito Performance in Florida to prep for the season, rather than at Gillette Stadium. Spikes’ decision to stay away from voluntary offseason workouts had nothing to do with a contract dispute, according to Howe.
The Florida product is in the last year of his rookie deal and wanted to build himself into a three-down linebacker. Dane Fletcher, who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered during last year’s preseason, has been playing linebacker in Spikes’ place. Spikes will have some competition to play on third down with Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins battling for snaps.
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