Patriots Notes: Do Thursday Night Games Pose Risk To Player Safety?

FOXBORO, Mass. — Some leftover notes and nuggets from Monday’s New England Patriots media availability at Gillette Stadium:

— Tom Brady said Monday on WEEI’s “Kirk & Callahan” he doesn’t mind Thursday night games like the one the Patriots are preparing to play against the Indianapolis Colts this week. He’s been around long enough, the quarterback said, that the diminished practice time doesn’t really faze him.

Special teams captain Matthew Slater, however, feels differently.

Asked about the Patriots’ short week, Slater made it clear he is not a fan of Thursday games.

“We’ve really got to think about these Thursday night games moving forward from a player safety and health perspective,” he said. “I know it’s a good product, and I know the fans enjoy it, but I think we’ve really got to give it a long, hard look.”

The current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA expires at the end of the 2020 season. Slater suggested the players will argue for a change in Thursday scheduling.

“I’m sure it’ll be visited here coming up soon,” he said.

In the meantime, though, Slater and the rest of the Patriots plan on doing all they can to ready their bodies and minds for the four-day turnaround.

“You’ve got to get your rest,” Slater said. “You’ve got to eat right. You’ve got to do what you can to get your body back, and you’ve got to watch a lot of film. Obviously, it’s not going to be a big physical week for us (in practice). It’s about trying to get yourself physically and mentally ready to go on a quick week. I think Coach (Bill) Belichick and his staff do a good job of that, and it’s on us as the players to make sure we get our bodies ready to go.”

— Adam Vinatieri, who played his final game in a Patriots uniform on Jan. 14, 2006, set the NFL record for career field goals made Sunday during the Colts’ 37-34 overtime loss against the Houston Texans. The 45-year-old kicker will be back in his old stomping grounds this week.

“He’s a Hall of Famer,” said Slater, who joined the Patriots three years after Vinatieri left for Indy. “… The big kicks that he made here over the course of his career — unbelievable. The consistency — the guy’s in his 23rd year in the league. I mean, he’s been playing longer than some of these guys have been alive around here. That really speaks volumes (about) who he is, the career he’s put together, and he’ll be in Canton one day.”

— Cornerback Stephon Gilmore shared a funny anecdote about Patriots rookie corner J.C. Jackson: Teammates like to tease Jackson by calling him by his real first name, Jerald.

“He don’t like that,” Gilmore said with a smile.

Jackson, the only undrafted rookie to crack the Patriots’ 53-man roster this season, was a healthy scratch in Weeks 1 and 2 but made a big defensive play in Sunday’s 38-7 win over the Miami Dolphins, picking off a Ryan Tannehill pass for his first career interception.

“He’s made those plays in practice,” Gilmore said of Jackson, who had two picks in New England’s preseason finale against the New York Giants. “He has great ball skills. I’m happy for him.”