Mates elect Brady captain again
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
FOXBORO — The Patriots elected captains for the 2018 season, and the list includes a pair of first-timers.
For the 17th straight season, it also includes their future Hall of Fame quarterback.
Tom Brady, who uncharacteristically skipped the voluntary offseason program, retained his captaincy. He’s joined by safety
Devin McCourty (eighth straight year as a captain), special teams standout
Matthew Slater (eighth in a row), center David Andrews (second year), running back James White (first year), and safety Patrick Chung (first year), a source confirmed.
White and Chung take spots previously occupied by linebacker Dont’a Hightower, tight end Rob Gronkowski and safety Duron Harmon.
Gronkowski served as a captain in 2016 and 2017, but didn’t get the nod this year. Like Brady, he skipped the majority of the spring, showing up only for mandatory minicamp. Hightower was a captain the past two seasons, as well.
White and Chung have drawn constant praise from coach Bill Belichick in recent years, so their captaincy comes as no surprise.
“Chung, I’ve talked about Chung a lot,” Belichick said at a January press conference. “The guy is a really good football player. He’s one of the best players in the league, one of the best players on our team. He does a lot of things very well and has done them that way for a long time. We’re lucky we have him. He’s an outstanding player in all the things that he does. We put a lot on him, and he always comes through.”
As for White, Brady offered an assessment of the fifth-year running back in August.
“I don’t think you could ask any more of a teammate than what James provides us and the trust that everyone has in him,” Brady said. “I mean, I feel like he never makes a mistake, and it’s pretty amazing to have that.”
Dawson on IR
Rookie cornerback Duke Dawson was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
Dawson was present at the beginning of yesterday’s practice, but departed once warm-ups concluded.
The second-round pick out of Florida was limited for the better part of training camp. Early in the summer, Dawson took reps as the slot cornerback with the first-team defense. Dawson has remained consistent with his preparation in the film room as he awaits his return.
“It’s not great,” Dawson said yesterday, prior to his IR placement. “As a competitor, you love the game of football and you always want to be out there. But things come up and things happen. You’ve got to take it day by day and get better.”
Dawson is the fifth Patriots rookie to land on IR. Offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn,
linebacker Christian Sam,
wide receiver Braxton Berrios and tight end Ryan Izzo
are the others.
Dawson is the only one who is eligible to return. He’ll be out a minimum of eight weeks.
To fill Dawson’s spot, wide receiver Riley McCarron was promoted to the active roster. The Pats enter Sunday’s season opener against the Houston Texans with five receivers: Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, Cordarrelle Patterson, McCarron and Chad Hansen, who was claimed off waivers from the Jets.
Michel still limited
Rookie running back Sony Michel remained limited yesterday with a knee injury. Tight end Jacob Hollister was limited for the second straight day with a hamstring injury.
Rookie linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley was upgraded to full participation after being limited with an illness on Wednesday.
New TE in town
The Patriots added former Houston Texans tight end Stephen Anderson to the practice squad.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Anderson fits the “move” tight end role.
He’s a third-year pro out of California who showed flashes in his second season with the Texans a year ago, highlighted by a fivecatch, 79-yard performance against the Tennessee Titans in Week 13.
Anderson was an undrafted free agent in 2016. He made the Texans roster in each of the past two years.