PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK: Moss catches Hogan's eye

Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan says a lot can be learned from watching film of Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss.

FOXBORO – Randy Moss had a Hall of Fame career.

Chris Hogan can’t help but notice.

“We have so much film of practice and the games when he was here and just his ability of catching the football and tracking the deep ball, he does it unlike anyone who’s ever done it,” the Patriots wide receiver said following Saturday’s training camp practice on the fields behind Gillette Stadium, “and if you watch him closely and study him you can definitely learn a lot about route running.”

Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night, Moss hauled in 982 passes for 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns over a career that spanned from 1998-2012 with Minnesota, Oakland, New England, San Francisco and Tennessee.

Appearing in 52 games with the Patriots from 2007-2010, Moss caught 259 passes for 3,904 yards and 50 touchdowns, an NFL-record 23 of them coming from Tom Brady in 2007.

“It’s hard to really emulate what he does on the football field, but yes, definitely, if I could (I would),” said Hogan. “I don’t really compare myself to other receivers. I kind of like to watch everybody’s game and try to take different things from different guys and Randy is someone that you can really… “We’ve got tons of film of him in the years past here and watching him definitely can get you (to become) a much better receiver if you watch how he plays the game.”

Michel to be sidelined: ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported that running back Sony Michel, the second of the Patriots’ two firstround draft picks, underwent a procedure to drain fluid in his knee and could be sidelined for 10 days.

Michel left practice early on Wednesday.

Flowers not looking ahead: Trey Flowers says the future is now. Playing on the fourth and final year of the rookie contract he signed as a fourth-round draft pick out of Arkansas in 2015, the veteran defensive end says he isn’t thinking about what might transpire in 2019 when he is due to become an unrestricted free agent.

“As far as what’s happening 10 months from now, I haven’t even thought about it,” Flowers answered when asked about his future. “I’m just focusing right now on getting better, focusing on my overall game, and I’ll let that take care of itself when the time comes.”

Since appearing in just one game and failing to register a tackle as a rookie Flowers has emerged, totaling 107 tackles and 13 � sacks over the last two seasons, leading the team in the latter department in both 2016 (with seven) and 2017 (6 � ).

After leaving practice early with what was apparently a minor injury on Friday, Flowers was back on the field on Saturday. Earlier in camp, Flowers needed three stitches to close a gash on his forehead, the result of a goal-line collision.

Decker on hand: Signed by the team on Friday, veteran wide receiver Eric Decker (No. 81 on your roster) was in uniform for practice.

See you Tuesday: The public’s next access to training camp is scheduled to come on Tuesday morning with a practice at 8:50 on the fields behind the stadium.

The Patriots will open up the preseason against the Washington Redskins in Foxboro on Thursday night.

While Saturday’s practice was a light session it ended with players being sent to run the hill behind the fields in a steady rain.