Patriots WR Brandon LaFell - "I'm Out of the Boot Now"
Brandon LaFell may not be a flashy player like Randy Moss or Wes Welker, but there's no denying his value to the Patriots during their championship run last season.
The veteran wide receiver played a key role in New England's offense in 2014, carving out a role as one of Tom Brady's most reliable targets after amassing 74 receptions for 953 yards including a career-high 7 touchdowns.
He got off to a slow start in September after catching just 10 passes in four games, but from there he settled in and became an important part of Brady's passing attack in an offense that was in dire need of another receiver to take the pressure off of Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski.
He stepped up in a big way and was a key contributor during the Patriots Super Bowl victory after LaFell finished with four receptions, including New England's first points against the Seahawks when he hauled in an 11-yard touchdown to put the Patriots up 7-0 early in the second quarter.
Word this offseason was that LaFell was spotted in a walking boot during OTA's, but it sounds like he's been making progress with whatever injury he was dealing with.
On Wednesday LaFell told Sirius XM NFL Radio that he's finally had some time off to let his body finish healing, and he's looking forward to getting back to work in a few weeks.
"Just a few lingering injuries that happened in the late part of the regular season that I just played through throughout the playoffs," LaFell told host Bruce Murray via ESPN Boston. "Finally got some time off to let my body heal up properly; I’m out of the boot now and I’m just looking forward to starting camp.”
With LaFell now getting healthy, that's certainly good news for the Patriots, who return all of their starting receivers in 2015. LaFell should be another key to New England's success, and with training camp set to start in three weeks, hopefully he's fully recovered and ready to go when the team starts getting ready for the upcoming season.
