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Brandon LaFell, Bryan Stork return to practice, Shaq Mason, Jabaal Sheard among four absentees

Wide receiver Brandon LaFell has made his 2015 debut at practice after a foot injury wiped out his entire offseason and caused him to start the year on the physically unable to perform list.

All players on the PUP list were eligible to begin practicing today, but linebacker Dane Fletcher and defensive tackle Chris Jones have yet to make their debut. In Fletcher's case, he is physically ready to return from the torn ACL, but the Patriots are waiting to start the clock on him due to their depth at linebacker on the 53-man roster. Once PUP list players begin practicing, the team has 21 days to either promote them to the active roster or sideline them for the remainder of the season, so there is some strategy involved in these decisions.