FOXBORO -- LeGarrette Blount side-stepped his way to good gains and elicited "oohs" and "ahhs" when juking his way free of tight coverage.
On Saturday, the 250-pound back didn't look at all out of shape. In fact, he was one of the most dynamic offensive players on the field for the Patriots in the team's first padded practice of training camp.
But his presence was one that the Patriots offense missed in its first two days of work.
Blount was placed on the team's non-football injury list on Wednesday after reportedly failing his conditioning test, and he sat out of Thursday's and Friday's sessions. He watched attentively during those practices as his teammates competed in red zone and two-minute drills, regretting that he couldn't join them.
"You want to be there," Blount said. "You want to be there for sure. It’s just the process of getting better. You’ve got to do everything that you have to do to get there and get out to the field and be out there and go through the grind with your teammates."
Blount, often smiling wide when given an opportunity to meet with reporters, took a bit of a different tone following his first workout with the team despite putting together a few impressive moments throughout the morning -- like when he ran an option route during one-on-one drills and made a move on linebacker Jamie Collins that got Collins turned around.
He did not reference his conditioning test failure, but he showed remorse for not being prepared to begin camp on time because he understands the stakes. In the second year of a two-year deal he signed last fall, Blount knows no roster spot is safe, and he wants to make his stay in New England -- where his hard-charging style is valued, and where he has meshed well with teammates and coach Bill Belichick -- one that lasts as long as possible.
New England Patriots
The six-year pro has not been immune to slip-ups over the course of his career. Reported disagreements with the coaching staff in Tampa Bay helped lead to a trade that brought Blount to New England in 2013. Last year, after signing with the Steelers as a free agent, an arrest in Pittsburgh for marijuana possession led to an eventual one-game suspension that he'll serve during Week 1 of this season. And when he left a regular-season game early in November, it led to his release, making him available for the Patriots to sign.
It didn't appear as though Blount's brief hiatus earlier this week damaged his standing in the eyes of the coaching staff, however, as he took a significant number of reps, many of which with Tom Brady. But, now that he's been made eligible to practice again, he's not taking any snaps -- or his place in the running back pecking order -- for granted.
"The job is open," Blount said. "There are a bunch of good running backs here. All of our running backs are pretty good, and at some point they played really well in their career. It’s an open job. Everybody’s got to fight for that position."