According to ESPN’s Field Yates, two starters from the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl LI victory will start training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
On Monday, Patriots defensive tackle Alan Branch, linebacker Dont’a Hightower, and offensive lineman Andrew Jelks were all placed on the PUP list.
Hightower, the team’s top inside linebacker, started 13 games for New England in 2016 while Branch finished with 15 starts at defensive tackle. Both players collected over 60% of the team’s defensive snaps last season.
For the Patriots’ defense, both Hightower and Branch are extremely important in the middle.