Evan Engram, Blake Martinez didn’t play
Veteran linebacker Blake Martinez missed practice on Thursday, but Judge dismissed it as a minor issue. However, when it came time to play on Friday night, he was noticeably absent.
“On Blake, no, there’s no update based on what we talked about [Thursday] night,” Judge said. “I’ll check with the trainers and see where he’s at right there.”
Also not playing was tight end Evan Engram, who ended last season on injured reserve due to a foot injury that required surgery. However, Engram has been healthy and playing at elite level in camp, so his absence was concerning.
Worry not, says Judge.
“In terms of Evan, look honestly, we’ve just been pounding him so much in practice that we’ve really kind of backed off a little bit with load management,” Judge said. “It wasn’t just him. We made decisions going in in terms of how we were going to use all of our players. These are things we look at in terms of total reps they’re taking at practice, some of the GPS numbers we get from our strength staff and training staff. It was a calculated decision tonight that we just said hey, you know what, tonight’s a night, even if it was a regular practice, we may have backed off Evan a little bit.”