Patriots' Dion Lewis: Returns to practice Thursday

Lewis (illness) returned to practice Thursday, ESPN's Mike Reiss reports.

Analysis:

While it remains to be seen if Lewis ends up being listed as questionable for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, or is removed from the team's injury report come Friday, we'd expect the running back to be available in Week 17. With the Patriots needing to defeat Miami in order to secure the No. 1 playoff seed in the AFC, look for Lewis, James White and LeGarrette Blount to continue to split work in the team's backfield Sunday. In any case, those in leagues still playing in Week 17, or looking for angles in daily formats, will want scan Sunday's inactives closely, as there will be a number of interesting names posted.