FOXBORO, Mass. — Patriots safety Patrick Chung might finally be ready to return to the field after missing six games with a foot injury.
Chung spoke to the media Thursday, which is typically a sign that a player is ready to play through an injury, and he could return to action Saturday against the Dolphins.
"I feel good and I'm working hard," Chung said.
Chung injured the foot late during the Patriots' loss to the Giants in Week 9. The Patriots have won all six of their games in his absence, so Chung said it hasn't been as hard to watch from a distance.
"Watching us win, it feels awesome," Chung said. "I wasn't a part of it, but we're winning. We're a team. We're not individuals here, so I'm not worried about that. We're winning."
In Chung's absence, the Patriots have used a mishmash of players at his spot, including wide receiver Matthew Slater, rookie cornerback Sterling Moore (who made his first career start at safety after one week of practice at the position), and Nate Jones, who was signed four days before his first significant action with New England.
Chung has been through a series of ups and downs with the injury, too. He was a game-time decision for the first game he missed in Week 10 against the Jets, but he didn't even travel with the team in Philadelphia in Week 12. He then breezed through a quick pregame workout prior to New England's Week 13 matchup with the Colts but didn't travel to Washington in Week 14 and missed all three practices in Week 15. Chung has been present for each session this week.
He simply said, "sometimes [the foot] feels good, sometimes it doesn't" and he's "got to be safe" with the injury. The belief is the Patriots have been a little extra cautious with Chung, which has worked to their favor during the winning streak, because they need him to be as close to full strength as possible for the postseason.
"It's just a day-to-day process," Chung said. "Just keep working, keep doing whatever I have to do to get better."
