According to the NFL transaction wire, linebacker Dont'a Hightower and defensive tackle Alan Branch will both begin training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
Both can return at any time during training camp, but if they don't by the first week of the regular season, they will have to miss at least its first six weeks.
Hightower missed three games last season as he battled both knee and shoulder injuries. However, he did not need surgery. He tested the free agency waters this offseason before signing back with the Pats on a four-year, $43.