Shane Vereen, Tommy Kelly, Leon Washington return to Practice


Well, this is encouraging.
The biggest name of that list is Vereen, who hasn't played since breaking his wrist Week One against the Bills. Vereen was put on injured reserve with a designation to return, mandating that he must miss at least six weeks of practice and at least eight games. Sunday's contest with the Steelers will mark the eighth game without Vereen, putting the explosive running back on track to return following next week's bye week (Week 11, Monday Night against the surprising Panthers).

Vereen's expected return should bring a boost to the struggling Patriots offense. Without Vereen (and the departed Danny Woodhead), the Patriots have been forced to turn to Brandon Bolden as their passing down back. Bolden has struggled while fighting through a knee injury and hasn't provided Tom Brady the same reliability as a safety valve option.

Vereen, on the other hand, is far more than simply reliable. His dynamic athleticism and natural pass-catching ability make him a matchup nightmare for defenses. Vereen's return should not only give Brady a better check-down option but also add a big play threat that has been largely missing from the offense. For a look at what Vereen can bring to the table, one merely needs to look at his 159 total yards against Buffalo back in Week One.

Kelly hasn't played since injuring his knee Week 5 against the Bengals. He was in the midst of a strong season prior to getting hurt in the middle of the Patriots defense. Kelly's age (32), the upcoming bye week and the fact that today's practice was in shells lead me to suspect that the veteran DT may get one more week off (plus the bye) before returning to game action. When he does, the combination of Kelly and newly acquired Isaac Sopoaga should give the Pats a much bigger and stouter group up front against the run, with Joe Vellano and Chris Jones pitching in as interior pass rushers.

Finally, Washington's eventual return could give the team's anemic kick return game a boost. Washington, the NFC's leader in kick return average last season, was expected to take over that role in 2013, but a lingering ankle injury has left the job to LeGarrette Blount. Even if he cannot quite recall his 2012 form, a return from Washington should be a significant upgrade to Blount, who at 250 pounds is simply not built for the job.

This was the first practice of the season with all 53 members of the active roster in attendance.

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