Bill Belichick Can’t Say Whether This Patriots Signee Will Play This Season

FOXBORO, Mass. — Calvin Anderson was the first external free agent to agree to terms with the Patriots this offseason. He was a full participant in spring practice, looking like a candidate to earn one of New England’s two starting offensive tackle jobs.

But one week into training camp, Anderson has not been spotted. The Patriots placed the former Denver Bronco on the non-football illness list before the start of camp and had yet to remove him as of Tuesday afternoon.

The nature and severity of Anderson’s ailment have not been reported, and it remains unclear when or if he’ll be able to return to the team.

A question Tuesday about whether Anderson’s season could be in jeopardy elicited a gruff response from head coach Bill Belichick, who refused to “look into the crystal ball” and share a possible timetable for the lineman’s recovery.

“Yeah, look, I’m not a medical doctor,” Belichick said before the Patriots’ sixth training camp practice. “I have my doctorate degrees that were honorary, but I’m not a medical doctor. Look, it’s always hard in those situations. If everything goes perfectly, then that’s one thing. If something comes up and there’s a setback or there’s a change, then that’s something else.

“So, I’m not going to sit here and try to play fortune teller and look into the crystal ball and say, ‘Oh, well this guy is going to be healthy on X date.’ I can’t do that. (He’s) day to day. If they’re better today, then we do more tomorrow. If they’re better tomorrow, then we do more the next day.

“If they get set back, then we review it, revise it and go forward. So I don’t know. You tell me how it’s going to go. I’m not sure.”

Anderson, who initially joined the Patriots as an undrafted rookie in 2019, appeared in 14 games for the Broncos last season with seven starts at left tackle. New England signed him two a two-year, $7 million contract in March that included $4 million guaranteed.

“Hopefully, things will be great,” Belichick said. “Again, I don’t have a crystal ball.”

With Anderson sidelined and projected starting left tackle Trent Brown held out of team drills in the last two practices, offensive tackle depth has been a concern for the Patriots this summer. Their top options Monday and Tuesday were veteran journeymen Conor McDermott (right) and Riley Reiff (left), with fourth-round rookie Sidy Sow and 2022 seventh-rounder Andrew Stueber filling out the depth chart.

The Patriots started four different right tackles last season and got inconsistent play from Brown on the left side. Brown’s recent limitations are a form of load management and not related to any sort of injury, according to a report from the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.