With Rob Gronkowski sidelined, could a healthy Chris Hogan provide a boost?

FOXBOROUGH — If the Patriots are going to be without Rob Gronkowski Monday in Miami, they could use the sort of offensive jolt Chris Hogan is capable of providing.

The wide receiver, who has been out of the lineup for the last four games with a shoulder injury he sustained in an Oct. 29 win over the Chargers, returned to practice on Wednesday. While he didn’t say he was ready to jump back into the lineup, he did strike an optimistic note about his health, saying it was “good” to be back out on the field.

“(Wednesday) was like the first day of school for me," Hogan said. "I was excited to be out there, and the competitor in you wants to be out there no matter what. For me, (I’m) just day-by-day trying to get better and hopefully I can put myself in a position where I can be back on the field with these guys.”

Hogan is just one of several offensive skill position guys capable of picking up the slack in Gronkowski’s absence. At the tight end spot, that includes backups Dwayne Allen and Jacob Hollister. In addition, you can expect an added workload in the passing game for the backs and receivers.

“That is what is great about this team," said Hogan, who has 33 catches for 438 yards and five touchdowns this season. "Guys are willing and able to step up and make a lot of plays. You can go down the list of guys who have been able to step up in the last couple of weeks and make a lot of plays to help this team get some really good wins.”

“We’ll just do what we always do,” explained Bill Belichick. “(We’ll) take the players that we have available and match them up against the great team that Miami has, their defense and how difficult they are to play against and block and move the ball – and try to come up with the best plan that we can to be competitive with them Monday night.”