New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots won’t have to worry about two of their key defensive players being sidelined for long.
Before the start of training camp, ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported the Patriots placed wide receiver Mack Hollins, tight end Austin Hooper, offensive tackle Vederian Lowe, and linebacker Jahlani Tavai on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list, along with cornerback Carlton Davis III, safety Josh Minkins and wide receiver Jeremiah Webb on the active/non-football injury (NFI) list.
But, head coach Mike Vrabel cleared things up on Tuesday, providing an update about two key defenders who are on that list. Specifically, he told reporters that he “expects” Tavai and Davis to be cleared to practice on Wednesday, which is the first official day of training camp.
During OTAs at the beginning of June, Tavai went down with what appeared to be a serious injury. He had to be helped off the field as he struggled to put weight on his lower body. MassLive’s Mark Daniels reported shortly after that Tavai was taken “off-site” for further evaluation. ESPN’s Adam Schefter then reported that Tavai suffered a calf injury that “is now expected to sideline him until training camp.”
But with training camp now here, it seems he’s ready to go.
As for Davis, being placed on the NFI list means he suffered an injury or illness that didn’t occur during team activities.
Players can be activated from these lists at any time, and Vrabel wasted no time when it came to Tavai and Davis.
