Bedard: Near full health, TE Matt LaCosse starting to show why the Patriots signed him

In an offseason where seemingly nothing went right with the offensive moves Bill Belichick tried to make to fortify his offense, there's still some hope one will pay off.

Tight end Matt LaCosse, who was signed to a two-year, $3.8-million contract from the Broncos early in the offseason, has seen his role slowly expand since finally getting back healthy from the high-ankle sprain he suffered in the first preseason game against the Lions on Aug. 8.

“Matt's very attentive. Smart kid. Picks things up well, works really hard,” Tom Brady said earlier this season. “He's just been limited here since the Detroit game, but he's tough. He's working through it, so hopefully, he just keeps getting better day-to-day.”

High-ankle sprains are among the worst nagging injuries an athlete can have. They never really get right without the full rest presented in the offseason. And they can suddenly go bad after making progress. It’s a one step forward, two steps back kind of thing. Not surprisingly, it’s been a tough go for LaCosse in his first season with the Patriots.

“Yeah, no doubt it's been frustrating,” said the 2015 Giants undrafted free agent out of Illinois. “You never want to have injuries like that, but it's been good to get back out there. Any way I can help the team and contribute, it's a good thing.”

LaCosse admitted that it was hard to sit on the sidelines when he knew he was fully capable of helping the offense be more productive.

“I think every single guy in this locker room has that feeling, that's why we're here, we're here to help this team,” he said. “Of course I had that feeling. I feel like I can help contribute and whatever they want me to do, that's what I'm going to do.”

LaCosse has had the typical route back from a high-ankle sprain (he later added a knee injury to it). After sitting out the season opener after the injury, he was able to play 41 solid snaps against the Dolphins. Then he was out Week 3, and got 11 snaps in Week 4 before playing a season-high 72 plays against the Redskins. Then it was back to 15 snaps vs. the Giants, and he was out until the Eagles game.

For the first time all season, LaCosse was able to play more snaps in the second of back-to-back games with 21 at Philadelphia (28 percent), and then 34 vs. the Cowboys (50 percent).

“Yeah, I mean it's just been slow because he hasn't had the opportunities to be on the field as much as he would like or we would like, or in order to get that timing and those repetitions,” said Belichick, before LaCosse’s recent run of health. “But he takes advantage and does everything he can do in the meeting room and walkthroughs and film study, and the reps he has on the practice field, but still, we've got a long way to go. He really hasn't played a lot of football with his teammates, through no fault of his, it's just that's what it is. He just hasn't really played a lot of football this year.”

Since getting back into the swing of things, LaCosse has shown the kind of promise that indicates his role could expand down the stretch.

LaCosse, who goes 6-6 and 255 pounds, wasn’t known as much of a blocker in his previous stints with the Giants, Jets, and Broncos, but he hasn’t been a slouch there with the Patriots.

On the second run of the game, LaCosse came across on a wham block to pick off a much larger Cowboys interior lineman. The block wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty — LaCosse got the worst of it — but it only matters if the block was effective. And it was, as Michel had a good gain.

NOTE: There's no audio on these videos, by design.