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Forgotten Patriots Starter Opens Up About Nearing Long-Awaited Return

New England Patriots offensive lineman Cole Strange can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Strange has yet to play this season, stuck on the physically unable to perform list as he rehabs from a significant knee injury that sidelined him since last December.

But a return is now well within the sights of the 2022 first-round pick, which would give the Patriots a much-needed boost to their offensive line.

“I feel like we’re kind of in the final stretch of the rehab process when it comes to what I’ve been doing,” Strange told The Boston Globe’s Christopher Price on Thursday. “I’ve been walking since, like … I think like April or March. Then there was running, sprinting, I’ve been cutting, plyometrics, jumping, and squatting. So I’ve been doing everything.

“And then recently, I’ve started the last phase of rehab before I get back to practice. That’s football-specific drills — offensive line drills, footwork. Just taking reps and doing more every day. I want to be out there more than anyone else wants me out there. I don’t know when it’s going to be, but it will be soon.”

The Patriots offensive line found some stability in recent weeks, but overall it has been a mess, including with New England once again considering moving their premier player on the line.

Strange certainly could help clean up things, but it’s unclear how the much the 26-year-old will provide after being out for almost a year. Strange feels ready to hit the ground running, though.

“All I can really do is — and it sounds cliché, but it’s true — is just prepare my best physically,” Strange told Price. “Do all the rehab things that they tell me to do, learn the playbook, and just be part of the team without actually being a part of the team.

“I’m not practicing, I’m not playing. I’m missing those elements of it. But I’m doing everything I can in the building, around the building and meetings to be included, to make it as seamless as a transition whenever I come back.”

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