FOXBORO, Mass. — Phillip Dorsett appears to be trending toward a return to action Monday night when the New England Patriots visit the New York Jets.
The wide receiver, who missed Thursday’s 35-14 victory over the New York Giants with a hamstring injury, practiced Tuesday and spoke with reporters afterward. Asked whether he expects to play against the Jets, Dorsett replied: “I’ll be fine.”
Dorsett suffered his injury early in New England’s Week 4 victory over the Washington Redskins. The short turnaround gave him just four days to recover before last week’s Giants game, and the Patriots opted to hold him out, making him inactive for just the second time since he joined the team in 2017.
After playing just four snaps over the last two weeks and enjoying a rare weekend off following the Thursday game, Dorsett was eager to get back to work.
“It was definitely good just to get a couple days of rest, but it feels even better to be back playing again,” Dorsett said. “… We’re so trained to be going every day to the point where if we get a day or two days off, it can be too long. Sometimes, it’s like, ‘I want to get back to playing football.’ Especially me — the week I missed, I just want to get to playing. So it definitely feels good to get back out there.”
Dorsett has 15 catches for 197 yards and a team-high three touchdowns this season as the Patriots’ No. 3 receiver.
It remains to be seen whether New England’s No. 2 wideout, Josh Gordon, will be available on Monday night. Gordon was not present during the media portion of Tuesday’s practice after leaving last week’s game with a hamstring injury, though he was spotted in the locker room afterward.
Running back Rex Burkhead (foot), linebacker Dont’a Hightower (shoulder) and safety Patrick Chung (chest) all practiced Tuesday. Burkhead sat out last week’s game, and Hightower and Chung both exited early with injuries.
