INDIANAPOLIS -- Quick-hit thoughts around the New England Patriots and NFL:

1. After the Patriots play the Colts on Sunday night, veteran wide receiver Brandon LaFell will be eligible to return to practice after opening the season on the physically unable to perform list. LaFell had traveled with the team to last Sunday’s game in Dallas, working out before the game and then watching from the sideline, with the goal of starting to condition his mind to a game-specific standpoint. Here’s what I’ve learned about LaFell’s situation: In May, he unexpectedly experienced some pain in his left foot while preparing for organized team activities. He’s now at a point in which he feels ready to join the team for practice (he would also be eligible to play Oct. 25 vs. the Jets), but ultimately that decision will be made by coach Bill Belichick.

2. Like LaFell, defensive tackle Chris Jones (offseason surgery for calf injury) and linebacker Dane Fletcher (torn ACL in 2014 season finale in Tampa) are eligible to begin practicing this week after opening the season on the PUP list. The Patriots have annually used PUP to build depth as much as any team in the NFL. It is my belief that all three players potentially could have been ready before Week 7, but by taking a patient approach, the Patriots essentially get a midseason depth boost of three quality players, almost as if they were acquired in a trade.

Brandon LaFell could be back next Sunday, and that could be the end of the line for Aaron Dobson on the Patriots' roster. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

3. With LaFell ready to return, I wonder if third-year receiver Aaron Dobson’s spot on the 53-man roster might be in jeopardy. The 2013 second-round draft choice was a healthy scratch last week, passed over in favor of recently acquired Keshawn Martin. LaFell will push him further down the depth chart (No. 5), and with Dobson having no major role on special teams, I don’t think it is stretch to say he’s just hanging on right now.

4. The CBS duo of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms passed along two notable behind-the-scenes nuggets about the Patriots during last Sunday’s game against the Cowboys. First, quarterback Tom Brady had receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola visit him in Montana shortly before players were set to report for training camp so they could train in high altitude (Doug Kyed of NESN.com wrote more about it Friday). Second, Brady buys dinner for his offensive linemen the night before some road games, sitting with them as they bond over some free grub. It doesn’t happen every week, but when I asked the O-linemen about it, they said the barbecue in Dallas last week was appreciated and that they always look forward to sandwiches from an Italian shop in Miami, compliments of Brady.

5. Patriots starting left tackle Nate Solder’s season-ending pectoral injury is a good reminder why players are sometimes more inclined to sign an extension early and "leave money on the table" than risk waiting to hit the unrestricted free-agent market after the season. If Solder hadn’t signed the extension in early September, he wouldn’t have received the same level of money in any contract as an unrestricted free agent after the season because he was coming off an injury. This same concept applies to running back Dion Lewis – who missed all of 2013 with a broken leg -- and the extension he signed two weeks ago.

6a. Solder’s injury thrusts Marcus Cannon into the starting lineup (likely at right tackle, with Sebastian Vollmer flipping to the left side), and also could increase his bank account. Cannon has a $250,000 playing-time incentive if he is on the field for more than 80 percent of the snaps. As part of a rotation through four games, he’s played 49.8 percent of the snaps, and that number will now spike considerably as long as he’s healthy.

6b. Two follow-up thoughts on Cannon becoming a starter: Former offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia previously shared the team’s belief that Cannon is a starting-caliber player, and those thoughts are timely to revisit. When the team experimented with Cannon at left guard early last year and the experiment bombed, I believe there was an important process that had to unfold to rebuild his confidence at tackle. While Cannon has had some ups and downs since then, I credit the coaching staff and Cannon for taking those steps to get back on track after things went off the rails at guard in 2014.

Marcus Cannon returns to the starting offensive line on Sunday. Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports

7. When the NFL looked into the Browns listing starting cornerback Joe Haden as probable, and then not playing him Oct. 4 against the Chargers, it sparked memories of the Patriots’ trip to face the Falcons in 2005 when essentially the same thing happened with quarterback Michael Vick. Maybe that’s why Bill Belichick was so adamant on Friday that he doesn’t even look at injury reports.

8. They don’t come any tougher than veteran Buccaneers guard Logan Mankins, who once played an entire season on a torn ACL with the Patriots, so the groin injury that knocked him out of last Sunday’s game against the Jaguars must be severe. The 33-year-old Mankins had started 40 straight games up to that point and has started 150 regular-season games overall.

9a. Did You Know, Part I: The Bengals visit the Bills today, and if the Bengals win, it will mark the first time they started a season 6-0 since their Super Bowl season in 1988.

9b. Did You Know, Part II: Between the Jets and Bills, head coach Rex Ryan’s teams are 2-16 after a victory since the 2012 season.

10. Coming on to the Patriots beat for the first time in 1997, I just missed Bill Parcells’ tenure with the Patriots. Those who covered Parcells used to say that his Friday news conferences were often his best, in part because it was the end of the week, he was more relaxed as most of the work was done, and there was some notable back and forth. Fast-forward to the present, and Bill Belichick’s Friday sessions have been notable for similar reasons. Each Friday, Belichick has arrived at the podium for his 9 a.m. session and noted that only the “hard cores” were in attendance (the crowd thins considerably as locker-room access isn’t until 1:45 p.m. those days). Belichick seems to like that. He also seems more willing to provide insight on certain topics he might otherwise pass on earlier in the week.

Recapping a few links from the week: Answering some Patriots questions, such as if the Cowboys’ defensive plan is something the Patriots can expect to see in the future. … First-round draft choice Malcom Brown played his best game of the season against Dallas (film review notes). … “Football journey” with tight end Michael Williams. … Dion Lewis’ short stint with Colts in 2014 forgettable for all. … Tedy Bruschi’s chat recap.