New England Patriots veterans were scheduled to report to Gillette Stadium for the start of training camp today. One veteran who did not report was 35-year-old guard Brian Waters, reports Greg Bedard of The Boston Globe.
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Waters, who started all 19 regular and postseason games and earned Pro Bowl honors for a sixth time after logging nearly 98 percent of the Patriots' snaps during the 16-game regular season, signed a two-year contract with New England last September. Whether or not Waters would continue his playing career has been up in the air throughout the offseason and today's absence does little to clear up his situation.
"At this moment, I'm not really discussing the situation," Waters told Bedard. "Right now I'm just handling things between me and the team. If they want to talk to you, that's fine but I'm not really talking about it."
Bedard suggested that Waters and the Patriotsmay have an agreement on a later reporting date. Between Waters' uncertain future and Logan Mankins return from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the Patriots beefed up their interior offensive line depth with the signing of Robert Gallery and re-signing of Dan Koppen, who could play center with Dan Connolly moving back to right guard.