FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Cleaning out the New England Patriots notebook:

Fletcher flirted with retirement. After tearing his ACL in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' final game last season, linebacker Dane Fletcher had considered retirement. His mother talked him out of it. This is how he explained it: "I told her 'I'm debating retiring.' She said, 'No you're not.' I said, 'No I'm not, then. I'll take it from there.'" So Fletcher returned to the New England Patriots as a free agent, where he said he's happy to be with his "brothers" again after playing here from 2010 to 2013. He opened the year on the physically unable to perform list and practiced for the first time Tuesday, which is why he was drawing a media crowd.

Jones back from calf injury. As noted in the offseason, defensive tackle Chris Jones underwent surgery on his calf, which led to him opening the year on the physically unable to perform list. Like Fletcher, he began practicing Tuesday and also drew a crowd of reporters. The biggest takeaway from Jones' remarks to reporters was that his recovery took him longer than he expected. "You don’t really appreciate it as much until you can’t do it, until it's gone," he said.

Edelman pops up on injury report. Receiver Julian Edelman landed on the injury report Wednesday as a limited participant (knee). He was back on the practice field for the start of Thursday's session. Meanwhile, defensive end Jabaal Sheard (ankle), offensive tackle Marcus Cannon (toe) and guard Tre' Jackson (left knee) remain out of practice, according to reports, while safety Duron Harmon also was not present. Harmon was expected a baby and his absence could be related to that.

McCourty on trade rumors and Washington's dangerous skill-position threats. The first question asked to safety Devin McCourty was about his brother, Titans cornerback Jason McCourty, and if he was disappointed that a rumored trade to bring him to New England didn't come to fruition. "It was funny, just hearing about it. Someday we'll play together, just not this year, I guess," he said. Specific to Sunday's game, McCourty called Washington's skill-position players as talented as any the Patriots have seen this year.

Andrews and Brady develop a connection. Quarterback Tom Brady talked Wednesday about the respect that undrafted rookie center David Andrews has earned, which made Andrews a popular subject for media interviews. Andrews, who is the only Patriot to play every snap this season, touched on the connection between center and quarterback: "We had a lot of reps in camp; that probably helped. Communication between us and the offensive line in general, he's very open to us and when we have a question, we go ask him. That way everyone can be on the same page and do our jobs."

LaFell not 100 percent back yet. After opening the year on the physically unable to perform list (left foot), receiver Brandon LaFell has played the last two games but doesn't feel he's back in his rhythm yet. "I'm trying, working every day, doing everything I can to get back on the same page with Tom," he said.