Demaryius Thomas returns to practice (in full pads!)

Despite suffering an Achilles tear late December of last year, veteran receiver Demaryius Thomas has rehabbed enough to return to the field.

It was downright shocking – and exciting – to see Demaryius Thomas take the field Tuesday in full pads and shells.

Sure, he’d previously been spotted at practice just the day before. But on Monday, the major story was that Julian Edelman was off the NFI list and back in action. Thomas, along with Cameron Meredith, was physically present during warmups, but wasn’t necessarily seen participating in any opening drills with the rest of the Patriots‘ receivers.

That changed on Tuesday though, with the 31-year-old veteran coming out fully-dressed and ready to roll, per Bleacher Report’s Timothy Rapp. While New England doesn’t have to start releasing official injury designations until the start of the regular season, it would at least appear that Thomas may be off the PUP list for the first time since he became a Patriot during the offseason.

Thomas played eight-and-a-half seasons with the Denver Broncos before getting traded to the Houston Texans halfway through last season. He was averaging 12 yards per reception and functioning as a solid No. 2/3 option at wideout for Houston before going down with the Achilles injury on December 23.

His return to the practice field just eight months later is nothing short of remarkable, especially given the severity of Achilles injuries (particularly to skill position players) and the often lengthy, complex treatment programs used to heal them.

It’s far from guaranteed that athletes ever make a complete recovery from a torn Achilles and return to their former potential, so it will obviously warrant close observation to see how Thomas performs in the coming weeks of practices leading up to the Patriots’ regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

His status for New England’s Week 3 preseason contest against the Carolina Panthers is also unknown at this time.

Thomas joins a crowded depth chart at receiver – which is itself a surprising development, considering that just a week ago, New England looked like it had one of the sparsest wideout groups in the entire NFL. At the time, Thomas, Meredith, and Edelman were all seen unfit to practice; Josh Gordon was suspended; and Maurice Harris, Phillip Dorsett, and rookie N’Keal Harry were all battling injuries.

Since then, Gordon has been reinstated, and every other player on that list has returned to practicing in some capacity save for Meredith.

The Patriots now face interesting questions with regards to whom they plan on saving for their final 53-man roster, considering the rapid accumulation of quality options they suddenly have at the position.