Some Patriots news that actually has nothing to do with Tim Tebow!



Surprisingly enough, there were Patriot players not named Tim Tebow actually in attendance at today's minicamp. In fact, every Patriots player was in attendance at minicamp according to Bill Belchick.

Austin Collie in for a workout:



Bill Belichick has this love affair with formal Colts players. Perhaps after going to battle with that team for so long he obviously has a respect for the talent they produce. Austin Collie has famously struggled with injuries - mostly concussions. He was the victim of a couple of game stopping hits to the head and could never really stay on the field for very long.

It was kind of a sad story, but encouraging that he's at least working out for the Patriots. It seems like the Patriots may be doing more due diligence here though. That would be my guess, anyway.

Brandon Spikes being Brandon Spikes:

Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes is entering a contract year. He made the news recently for skipping voluntary OTAs, instead he headed down to Florida for some private training. Spikes was asked about both things and gave very Brandon Spikes like answers.





Personally, I thought the big deal that was made over his absence at OTAs was much to do about nothing. He was working with the same trainer he had worked with the year prior, and that helped him greatly in the 2012 season. If I had to guess on Spikes contract, I would think he might be gone depending on the kind of year he has. If he can prove that he can be a three down player, another team might beat the Patriots' offer. The Pats are well stocked at the linebacker position and so it wouldn't be worth it to them to try and retain Spikes if they have to pay top dollar. Then again, I also never thought Aqib Talib would come back for the money he did.

Alfonzo Dennard back at practice

Dennard is one of the Patriots starting corners and seemed to hurt his shoulder badly in OTAs. He was carted off the field but no updates came out since. It appears he's at least not going to be out for the year.




Dennard's injury still bears watching but the fact that he was out there at least does bode well for him. Returning both Dennard and Talib as starting corners will go a long way for this Patriots defense that has often struggled out of the gate with new personnel in the secondary.

No longer in walking boots:

Both Julian Edelman and Brandon Bolden had been in walking boots, but not any longer!


Boston Herald:
Patriots running back Brandon Bolden, who missed all three of the Patriots' organized team activities that were open to the media with a foot injury, is no longer wearing a walking boot. Bolden's injury wasn't considered serious a couple weeks ago, but it was unclear if he would practice before the end of minicamp.

This is obviously a good sign as both had great flashes of potential in 2012. Bolden rushed for over 100 yards as a rookie early in the year. He then injured himself and was caught using PEDs so was suspended. He never saw much of the field after that.

Julian Edelman actually looked, dare I say, awesome at times last season. However, it seemed like every time he was having a good game he would get injured. Sadly, Edelman is the wide receiver with the most experience in this offense left on the team. Brady likes someone that knows the offense and so Edelman could turn into a significant player in the passing game, if healthy.

Leftovers:



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