The New England Patriots had a busy holiday on the practice field Thursday.

Quarterback Tom Brady (Achilles), tight end Rob Gronkowski (illness) and safety Patrick Chung (ankle) returned on a limited basis after all three missed the initial workout of the week. Brady will play Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, according to a source.

But tight end Martellus Bennett (shoulder, hamstring) didn’t participate despite being limited Wednesday. He played through both injuries Sunday against the Oakland Raiders and hasn’t missed a single game in his season-plus with the Patriots despite dealing with an array of serious injuries.

Center David Andrews (illness), right tackle Marcus Cannon (ankle) and wide receiver Chris Hogan (shoulder) remained out of practice. Andrews had flu-like symptoms last week in Colorado and missed his first game of the season, and Cannon and Hogan have missed the last two games.

Slot receiver Danny Amendola (knee), defensive tackle Malcom Brown (ankle), cornerback Eric Rowe (groin) and special teams captain Matthew Slater (hamstring) were all limited again.

Amendola has played through his knee injury all season; his lone absence was due to a concussion. The Patriots believed Brown and Rowe were close enough to returning last week that they brought them to Colorado for practice, so they’re each a possibility for Sunday against the Dolphins.

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DOLPHINS: Wide receiver Jarvis Landry has absolutely no back-down.

In the spring, Landry predicted that the Dolphins would sweep the Patriots this year – which has not happened since 2000.

Seven months later, the Dolphins have lost four straight and now not only need to win Sunday in Foxbororough – the first of two games against New England in three weeks – for bragging rights, but to save their season.

Landry met with reporters after practice and showed no signs of easing off the prediction.

“Honestly, it’s a pride thing and also it’s something for us, a mindset,” Landry said. “I spoke about it. They’re a team that I have great respect for always.”

You cannot sweep the Patriots without winning in Foxborough, which Miami has not done since 2008. The line for Sunday’s game is 171/2 points.

“I don’t care about Vegas,” Landry said. “I don’t care about Vegas. I don’t care about numbers. Any given Sunday, anybody can beat anybody. That’s the beauty of this league, that’s the beauty of the NFL, and that’s why I love this sport so much.

“You never know. This may be the game that turns our season around. You never know. For us, we just focus on ourselves and put good days together so that when we get to the game, we’re confident, we’re playing fast and we can pull one out.”

BEARS: Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd was placed on injured reserve, ending his season because of a knee injury.


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