FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Even though New England Patriots tight end Ben Watson returned to practice Monday, he fully admitted his string of absences this summer have left him "behind" in his preparations for the regular season.
Watson has missed a majority of the team's practices since the Patriots showed up July 30 for training camp, and he hasn't dressed for either of their preseason games due to an undisclosed injury. While the five-year veteran has been in the Patriots system long enough to recognize his responsibilities, he conceded he has some work to do to get up to speed physically.
"I feel behind as far as not being able to practice, not doing the conditioning," Watson said. "That'll be a big thing, just going through the practices. I definitely feel behind. It's one thing to understand what to do, but it's another thing to go and do it."
After missing 15 games with an injury during his rookie season in 2004, Watson has missed a total of 10 games over the last four seasons, and he's never been able to participate in a full 16-game schedule.
"It's a situation where anytime you have any injury, there's always a certain timetable," Watson said. "That timetable depends on how fast stuff heals. It depends on what the coaches feel they want you to do and when they release you to go. As an athlete, you always do your best to try to get better as fast as you can because this is your livelihood."
This is an important season for Watson, who is in the last year of his rookie contract. Besides injuries, the 2004 first-round pick has struggled to remain consistent. At 6-foot-3, 255 pounds and equipped with the speed of a wide receiver, Watson is a physical specimen who was expected to provide a unique dynamic to the Patriots' passing attack, but he has only caught 138 passes over five seasons.
As a result, the Patriots added Chris Baker and Alex Smith to their corps of tight ends in the offseason, and David Thomas has had one of his finest camps in Watson's absence. It seems likely the Patriots will carry four tight ends into the regular season, and Watson's job shouldn't be in any jeopardy.
Still, Watson said he is demanding more out of himself when he gets onto the field with the hope of making up for lost time.
"There's always pressure that you put on yourself," Watson said. "You'd be surprised how little pressure the training staff and the coaches put on you. Usually, when you're an athlete, you're a reporter, whatever you do for a living, you put pressure on yourself to be the best that you can be. There's definitely pressure that I put on myself, but at the same time, if there's a reason why you can't perform, then it is what it is."
