FRANKFURT, Germany — While most New Englanders were just starting their Friday, the Patriots were hitting the practice field at their temporary European home base.
The Patriots kicked off their final Week 10 practice around 2 p.m. local time — 8 a.m. back in Foxboro, Mass. — at the DFB Campus, which typically houses the German national soccer team.
The traveling party of players, coaches and support staff touched down in Frankfurt roughly six hours earlier after an overnight flight from Boston. They’ll need to quickly adjust their body clocks as they prepare to take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday at Frankfurt Stadium.
The only three players not spotted at practice were the three who already were ruled out for Sunday: cornerback J.C. Jackson, wide receiver DeVante Parker and left tackle Trent Brown.
The rest of New England’s 53-man roster and practice squad were present and participating. The swarm of reporters on hand — including dozens from outlets across Europe — were permitted to watch roughly the first 10 minutes of the non-padded session.
That brief window included a round of 7-on-7 walkthroughs. The deployment of personnel during those drills suggested rookie receiver Kayshon Boutte could return to the lineup this week after being inactive for the last eight games.
Head coach Bill Belichick said before practice that Boutte, who has not played since Week 1, is “definitely trending in the right direction.”
Boutte sat last week in favor of second-year pro Tyquan Thornton, who finished with one catch on four targets for 7 yards and was benched early in the second quarter. Wideout Jalen Reagor struggled in the Patriots’ Week 9 loss to Washington, as well, catching one of six targets for 11 yards and dropping a late-game deep ball.
Media members also saw assistant offensive line coach Billy Yates leading New England’s linemen through positional drills. Yates is taking on a larger role with Adrian Klemm away from the team for medical reasons.
Belichick said this week that Klemm would be “out for a little while.”
Kickoff for Sunday’s game is set for 9:30 a.m. ET.
