For the second straight day, the Patriots got a big-name receiver back out at practice and in uniform.
During Tuesday's workout ahead of Thursday's preseason game with the Panthers, receiver Demaryius Thomas was dressed - jersey, shorts, shells, helmet and all - for a more active practice workload for the first time all summer.
That's an indication that the 31-year-old has been removed from the physically unable to perform list and is eligible to join the 53-man roster for the start of the regular season.
Spotted on the practice field: Demaryius Thomas 👀 pic.twitter.com/S6NEZb3GYn — Patriots on NBCSB (@NBCSPatriots) August 20, 2019
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The Patriots depth chart at wideout is suddenly starting to look a little more crowded. Thomas is joined by Julian Edelman, who was removed from the non-football injury list yesterday, as well as N'Keal Harry, Jakobi Meyers, Phillip Dorsett and Braxton Berrios. Josh Gordon (NFI) and Cam Meredith (PUP) remain ineligible to practice but were on the fields behind Gillette Stadium Tuesday afternoon and warming up with their teammates.
We'll dive more deeply into what qualify as reasonable expectations for Thomas coming off of a season-ending Achilles tear last year, but the addition of players with NFL experience to a receiver room that appeared lacking just last week has to be a welcome sight for Tom Brady.
Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, Derek Rivers and Shilique Calhuon weren't spotted at the start of Tuesday's practice. Both suffered injuries on Saturday against the Titans. Reporters also couldn't find Patrick Chung and Michael Bennett on the field during practice - neither of whom played against the Titans in New England's second preseason game.
The Patriots won't practice Wednesday and then will take on the Panthers Thursday night in Foxboro.
Phil Perry's 53-man Patriots roster projection>>>>>
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