FOXBORO, Mass. — Duke Dawson could make his New England Patriots debut this Sunday night at Gillette Stadium.
Dawson, who has been on injured reserve with a hamstring injury since the opening week of the regular season, returned to practice last Monday and is eligible to be added to the 53-man roster ahead of this weekend’s primetime matchup with the Green Bay Packers.
The rookie cornerback could replace veteran Eric Rowe, who was placed on IR this week with a groin injury. As of Friday morning, the Patriots had yet to fill Rowe’s roster spot.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick offered an update on Dawson — a second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft — during his Friday morning news conference.
“He’s making progress every day,” Belichick said. “Certainly, the time that he had to rehab and get healthy and get stronger and so forth was good for him. Now it’s good to get him on the field, get him working on the scout team, getting some defensive reps. We’ll see how it goes. He’s, I’d say, closer every day.”
Injuries limited Dawson, who starred as a versatile defensive back at Florida last season, to just one game during the preseason. He was on the Patriots’ initial 53-man roster but landed on IR before their season opener against the Houston Texans.
Though he has been unable to play since the regular season began, Dawson has remained an active member of the team, making frequent appearances in the Patriots’ locker room.
“The No. 1 thing for any player is just to be healthy when they come back and be able to do everything physically that they need to be able to do,” Belichick said. “And in the meantime, there’s a lot of staying up on the material, staying up on any new calls or adjustments that we put in so they don’t fall behind on those, doing walkthroughs and keeping up on the film.
“And then, as they get progressively healthier, start to do individual drills that don’t involve contact or don’t involve stress on the injury part that is being rehabilitated and be able to work on those things. Like catching balls, for example — things like that where you may not be involved in running, but you can work on your ball skills.
“You do what you can do, and what you can’t do, you wait until you’re able to do it, and then you start doing that. But you certainly don’t fall behind in the things that you are able to do just because there are things that you aren’t able to do.”
Cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer and de facto defensive coordinator Brian Flores both praised Dawson’s work ethic when speaking with reporters Thursday.
“There’s plenty for him to work on like there is for everyone on the team,” Flores said. “I think he’s working hard to do that, and if he continues to do that, then hopefully he can carve out a little role for himself.”
Dawson is one of three rookie cornerbacks on the Patriots’ roster along with J.C. Jackson and Keion Crossen. If he is activated, his most likely role would be as a backup to slot corner Jonathan Jones.
