Patriots Training Camp Standout ‘Monitoring’ Soft Tissue Injury

Tyquan Thornton has been one of the standouts at New England Patriots training camp, which was why it was concerning to see him miss practice Saturday.

The Baylor product, who turns 24 on Wednesday, didn't suffer a "serious" ailment, according to Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. But he did appear to be a limited participant in the next two practices when he did return this week.

Thornton told reporters after Tuesday's practice that he was "monitoring" what he called a soft tissue injury.

While the third-year wide receiver doesn't believe the injury will linger for too long, it did mark the third straight offseason where Thornton suffered an injury. The wideout suffered a fractured clavicle in a preseason matchup in his rookie season, and he suffered a shoulder injury last season.

Thornton bulked up during the offseason, and he's motivated to prove doubters wrong. But he'll need to show he can be available for a full season to do that.

Head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters Tuesday that any player who is healthy had a chance of playing in the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium. Fans will have to wait until Thursday's matchup to find out if Thornton will get his chance to shine.