With the Patriots’ offense in disarray and missing three projected starters, it must have been a comforting sight for QB Tom Brady to see LG Logan Mankins back in uniform.
He’s only at the beginning of his comeback just six months from having right ACL surgery following the Super Bowl, but the former All-Pro guard was happy to be back.
“I’ve never been hurt, really, so not being out at practice was something new for me, which I didn’t enjoy too much,” Mankins said. “It’s good to be back out there and just trying to get better as fast as possible.”
Mankins wouldn’t say he’d be ready for the season opener.
“I don’t know; I wish I knew,” he said. “How long do we have? A few more weeks? I’d like to think I would be able to, but I don’t know. We’re taking it slow right now, so it’s hard to tell.”
The most startling revelation by Mankins was that he damaged his right knee during the regular season, but it didn’t become worse until the Super Bowl, when his play was shoddy.
“I could still run, so there was no reason to sit out,” Mankins said. “There were no MRIs or anything, so we never knew what exactly was hurt. If you could still run and play, there’s no reason to go see a doctor, right?
“The Super Bowl was a tough one. I was banged up a little, but everyone was at that point of the year. Everyone knew something wasn’t quite right, so that’s why we had the MRI after the game to see out what was wrong.
“If I can run, I’m not going to sit out any game. I’m here to play football, not to watch and collect a check.”
Mankins has extreme confidence that Nate Solder will fill the shoes of Matt Light next to Mankins at LT.
“Nate is one of those guys that’s going to do everything in his power to get better and to work hard,” Mankins said. “Nate is going to do a great job, and we expect him to do a great job.
“We need to get some reps with each other, but I don’t know when that’s going to happen, but sooner or later hopefully.”
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