Patriots safety Steve Gregory has been out since suffering a hip injury in the fourth quarter of New England's Week 4 win over the Bills, but it appears as if he's getting close to a return.
"Yeah feeling good, getting better everyday," Gregory said when asked if he'd be back for New England's next game. "Putting in work and, you know, just getting better."
He will spend the bye week around the Patriots facility at Gillette Stadium, working to get healthy so that he might be ready to play against the Bills in Week 10.
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While his teammates rest their bodies and decompress during their time off, Gregory will be doing the opposite. Now in his seventh NFL season, it's not the kind of bye week he's used to, but that's OK with him.
"It'll be a little different bye week for me," he said. "But I haven't been playing for quite a few weeks now that these guys have been having."
Whenever he is healthy enough to play, he said he'll be able to hit the ground running.
"I've been in meetings and stuff the whole time," he said. "For me it's just getting back on the field running around, getting caught up to speed on everything. I'll do that pretty quickly."
The Patriots had a leaky pass defense with Gregory on the field through the season's first four weeks, but the team would welcome his return to a secondary that has been depleted by injury and is lacking in experience.
For his part, Gregory can't wait to get back.
"It's really hard, as a competitor, as a guy that wants to contribute and help your team, to sit on the couch and watch your guys play," he said. "But guys are doing a good job. We put ourselves in a pretty good position right now so I'll be excited to get back out there and start playing."