FOXBOROUGH, Mass — On Friday morning, prior to the New England Patriots taking the field for their final practice before Green Bay, running back TreVeyon Henderson released a statement, addressing his recent absence from the team.
That was a large focal point of Vrabel's press conference, as he also gave updates on other players including A.J. Brown.
Here's what I'm hearing:
Corey Kiner ready to go out and play for TreVeyon Henderson
TreVeyon Henderson has been absent from practice this past week after missing last week's game with an illness. And on Friday, he provided an update, revealing that he had "an unexpected and unusual medical emergency involving a series of unexplained neurological symptoms.
The running back has already been ruled out for the matchup against Green Bay, meaning that Corey Kiner
will move up the depth chart behind Rhamondre Stevenson. He spoke with Patriots Wire, expressing how he wants to go out there and do his best for his teammate.
"It does make me want to go harder for him because he can't be out there, and I know how much he does want to be out there," Kiner explained. "So, just praying for (TreVeyon) and trying to be there for him whenever I can. But you know, I want to go out there and play as hard as I can and do what I can to help the team because I know that's what he would do."
Mike Vrabel on TreVeyon Henderson
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel also addressed the news surrounding Henderson's injury.
"I know that he is well loved and respected on our football team," the head coach said. "My support shows up in a lot of different ways. Just trying to make sure that TreVeyon knows that he's cared for, and that the recovery plan is intact, and he's comfortable with it. And that his wife, Kenzie, is cared for and understands what is going on.
"To support him the best way that I know how is just to care for him, listen to him, and do whatever we can to get healthy and get back and help this football team and do what he loves."
So, could they put him on the non-football injury list?
"We'll see," Vrabel added. "Work through whatever, and I can't even put a timeline on it. I don't think that's fair to anybody. So we're just going to focus on the guys that we have available and how we prepare for the Packers, and then also continue to care for TreVeyon and his wife and his family."
Game statuses and A.J. Brown update
Along with Henderson being ruled out, Vrabel said that wide receiver A.J. Brown will also not take the field this weekend.
"I know he's working extremely hard to get back, and he's staying engaged in meetings and everything else, and doing everything we ask him to do," Vrabel said. "I can only comment on what I see and how he comes into the building and is engaged, and certainly doing everything he can to get back."
The Patriots travel to Germany next week for a matchup with the Lions, and the head coach was asked if they will have to make a decision about Brown's status earlier because they will be leaving on Wednesday.
"I'm not really sure yet," he responded. "I'll focus on this week and what that looks like, and then anything that we, decisions that we make, whether that's early in the week, we'll share with you. I don't know what that would be, but I'm not going to try to predict the future."
Caleb Lomu's Friday updates
Last season, Will Campbell had the rookie duty of providing updates to the team at the start of their Friday meeting. But, now that he's in his second year, he got to pass that job on, and it went to Caleb Lomu.
So, how's he been doing?
"He's getting long," Vrabel said jokingly. "It's starting to cut into my time. So I'm going to have to dial him back... Last week was good."
For Lomu, he's says it's been a fun experience and the perfect way to get everyone in a good mood going into the weekend.
"It's fun. I enjoy doing it. It gives everyone a good laugh and starts Friday off on a good note," he explained. "They say the delivery is the best part."
He revealed he found out he was tasked with this duty from Vrabel after a practice.
Who will be returning for the 2016 reunion
The Patriots announced a list of players who would be returning this weekend to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Super Bowl LI.
It will be Ryan Allen, Danny Amendola, David Andrews, Trevor Bates, Malcolm Butler, Marcus Cannon, Patrick Chung, James Develin, Nate Ebner, Julian Edelman, Chase Farris, Trey Flowers, Tyler Gaffney, Stephen Gostkowski, Rob Gronkowski, Woodrow Hamilton, Chris Hogan, Brandon King, Jordan Richards, Eric Rowe, Dante Scarnecchia, Jabaal Sheard, Nate Solder, Vincent Valentine, DeAndrew White, and James White.
Gronkowski will also be separate individually as he's inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Other notes
- Vrabel on WR Mack Hollins and G Greg Van Roten: "I think we'll see how they come in tomorrow, and then make some decisions on where they're at."
- Marcus Bryant on being activated: "I was ecstatic. Just being able to get back out there with my brothers and being able to get coached by the coaches. And I missed it when I was gone, and now that I'm back out there, I just I put my all into it."
- Lan Larison on being promoted to the active roster from the practice squad: "It was awesome for hard work to pay off. But, in my mind, being on the practice squad, it wasn't like I wasn't part of the team. It was always prepare like a starter and be ready for when my opportunity comes."
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: What I’m hearing at Gillette Stadium: Friday talk (Week 9)
