FOXBORO — Gabe Jacas still isn’t ready to suit up for his first Patriots practice, but he’s making progress, according to head coach Mike Vrabel. Vrabel shared a positive update on the second-round draft pick ahead of Thursday’s training camp practice.

Patriots activated EDGE Gabe Jacas from the active/non-football injury list. In other words, he actually practiced on Saturday for the first time. Jacas missed the entire offseason activity program with a knee injury that prompted the Patriots to attach a waiver to his rookie contract.

Jacas’s absence from the offseason program was an unexpected mystery. All that was known was that he missed almost the entire offseason and the first two days of training camp because of a surgical procedure. Jacas and the Patriots spent nearly three months negotiating, and he was the 256th of 257 draft picks to sign.

The New England Patriots have several prominent position battles unfolding at training camp, but their kicking situation has offered considerably less attention.That’s exactly how the team planned it.