ATLANTA -- The Patriots have had an amazing run of good health at the end of the regular season and into the playoffs, so the sight of anyone landing on the injury list at this point on the calendar is newsworthy. With that in mind, it was interesting to see defensive tackle Malcom Brown pop up on Wednesday's list with a calf issue.
Bill Belichick didn't sound worried about Brown, telling pool reporter Jenny Vrentas Brown “did some stuff early in practice today. Everybody else was good to go.” Per Vrentas, Brown was at practice wearing his helmet but spent most of the session on the sideline.
“We’ll see how it goes but I wouldn’t say it’s a five-alarm fire,” defensive line coach Brendan Daly told BostonSportsJournal.com about the situation.
If the calf continues to be an issue for Brown, that could open the door for the likes of Danny Shelton, a veteran who has been in and out of the lineup over the second half of the season.
As for the rest of the practice, per Vrentas, it was an 88-minute session held on the campus of Georgia Tech -- Shaq Mason's alma mater. (Mason said last week he was excited to serve as the host for a few reasons, not the least of which was because he could get Georgia alums like David Andrews and Sony Michel on the Tech field.)
The workout was held indoors, similar to what the Patriots did over the course of the week before they left in Foxborough. Why?
“There are 20-story skyscrapers surrounding the field,” Belichick said. “I don’t think we can have a public practice out there.”
Belichick had the team in shells for the Wednesday practice, a bit of a departure from the regular season.
“We are way ahead of where we normally are on Wednesday, but we are trying to keep it as a Wednesday-Thursday-Friday and get into our normal routine, which has worked pretty well for us this year,” Belichick said.
“We were in pads last week,” Belichick added. “I think we will be ready to go.”
Vrentas had the following description of practice:
Quarterback Tom Brady looked sharp, starting off with a few up-tempo plays as the team piped in Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” raising the music’s volume before the offense was preparing to snap the ball. Brady celebrated one successful play by raising his arms to make the touchdown signal. He continued encouraging his teammates through practice, at one point offering a thumbs-up and later patting his offensive linemen and receiver Phillip Dorsett on the helmet. Brady ended the final period of practice with two touchdown passes against the scout-team defense. Afterward, players did some extra individual work on the field, and Brady stayed with center David Andrews and a few offensive teammates to practice exchanges and handoffs.
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There was a lot of chatter following Devin McCourty's surprise interview on Opening Night when he sounded noncommittal about the possibility of returning for 2019, telling Deion Sanders of NFL Media a Super Bowl win alongside his brother would check off all the boxes when it came to his career goals. But on Wednesday, he was asked about possibly retiring, and appeared to pour some cold water on any speculation.