FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots still are banged up at guard, but the injuries at the position now are at least trending in the right direction.
Shaq Mason (hand) and Jonathan Cooper (foot) returned to practice Monday, and both participated in the stretching period before leaving for conditioning work during positional drills.
Wide receivers Malcolm Mitchell and Danny Amendola (physically unable to perform list), guard Tre’ Jackson (PUP) and defensive ends Rob Ninkovich and Shea McClellin departed with Mason and Cooper. Tight end Rob Gronkowski left for the conditioning field after initial positional drills.
Cooper hadn’t been spotted since suffering a plantar fascia injury July 30, in the first week of training camp. Mason hurt his hand prior to the Patriots’ second preseason game Aug. 18 against the Chicago Bears.
Running back Dion Lewis (PUP), offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer (PUP), linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill (illness) and wide receiver Matthew Slater (undisclosed) didn’t practice Monday and weren’t spotted.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Hoffman/USA TODAY Sports Images
