By NFL injured reserve rules, both wide receiver Julian Edelman and rookie offensive lineman Justin Herron are eligible to return to the practice field this week, which would preview a potential return to the active roster.
Edelman last played on Oct. 25, catching one pass for 13 yards in New England’s ugly loss to the 49ers. He was then placed on injured reserve and underwent surgery on his knee do deal with an issues that’s reportedly “bone on bone” for the 34-year-old slot receiver.
During his Wednesday video call with local reporters, Belichick was asked if he had a plan to start the clock on either IR player.
“I think we’ll do what we would normally do in that situation and that’s to work towards that goal but not start it until we’re sure that the player is ready to start it,” Belichick explained. “So we’ll warm them up inside, see how they feel, put them through the part of their rehab and just see where they are, where we think they are, where they feel they are relative to beginning, starting the clock on them practicing. Neither player has had a setback. They’ve both progressed on a positive direction. It’s just really a question of whether they are ready or not. Is that today, is it tomorrow, is it next week? I’m not sure what the timeframe is on that but I think they are all moving in the right direction and decisions on this before we start the clock we want to make sure that they’re confident and we’re confident that they’re ready for participation in the next stage of their return to play.”
When Edelman had the surgery, Belichick expressed hope that it would allow the veteran receiver to return at a higher level. “Hopefully he’ll have a good recovery and be back better than where he was before the surgery,” Belichick said on Oct. 30.
Now, apparently, that opportunity is drawing near and could come as early as Wednesday’s practice at Gillette Stadium.
The sixth-round rookie Herron played in six games with two starts along the offensive line before landing on IR due to an ankle injury suffered against San Francisco.
