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Players arrived to Gillette Stadium, as the team practiced for the first time Tuesday following the bye week.

For one player, it was his first practice of his career with the Patriots.

Marcus Cannon, the Patriots fifth round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, was out on the field with the rest of his Patriots teammates Tuesday. Cannon is currently on the reserve/non-football injury list and the Patriots have three weeks to either activate him to the 53-man roster or place him on injured reserve.

In April, Cannon was diagnosed with a treatable form of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. The disagnosis dropped Cannon’s draft stock considerbly, and he’s been fighting to get back on the field ever since.

Following the draft Cannon, a Odessa, Texas native, who spent five seasons at TCU, was grateful of the opportunity.

“God wouldn’t have put this on my plate if I couldn’t handle it,” Cannon said.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Cannon’s progress is encouraging and that he has worked hard to get to the point he is at today.

“I hope things clear up so he gets that opportunity,” Belichick said. “We’ll just take it day by day and see how it goes.”

About Matthew Marcantonio - My Twitter

Matthew Marcantonio is the Patriots and college football editor at Sports of Boston. Marcantonio has contributed for two newspapers; the Sentinel & Enterprise (Leominster, Mass) and The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La) and held internships with The Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated.

Tags: Bill Belichick, Marcus Cannon, New England Patriots