Patriots defensive back Brandon Meriweather says he has recovered from the leg injury he suffered in an Aug. 17 exhibition game against the Buccaneers.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

FOXBORO — So far this season, whenever New England coach Bill Belichick has been asked how he thinks second-year defensive back Brandon Meriweather is progressing, he has responded with nothing but praises.

He makes statements such as the following, which he said July 31: “I thought he made a lot of improvement last season during the course of the year and in training camp. He had a good offseason and a good spring. He is having a good training camp. I think he is much better now than where he was last year at this time. He continues to improve on a regular basis. He works hard and takes coaching well.”

Against Tampa Bay on Aug. 17, Meriweather’s on-field progress came to a halt when he left the game in the first quarter with a leg injury. He returned to practice yesterday for the first time since the injury and said that his leg was feeling much better.

“I’m feeling good,” Meriweather said. “I’m feeling OK.”

Meriweather said he expected to play Sunday.

“I hope I’m able to help my team in every way I can,” Meriweather said. “Yes, I expect to play.”

Meriweather said he hated sitting on the sidelines, watching his teammates play while he was injured.

“Whenever you see your team playing you want to be a part of it, you know? Just like everything else — when your kid takes his first steps, you don’t want to sit down and watch it on video, you want to be there in person and experience it yourself. That’s what it’s like; you always want to be on the field with your team; it builds chemistry,” Meriweather said.

Meriweather agrees with Belichick that he is better at this point of the season than he was last year.

“I think I know [the game] better, but there’s a lot more that I need to learn,” Meriweather said.

He said he was more comfortable when he was out on the field now than he was a year ago.

The biggest thing, he said, is that he is coming into the season already knowing the playbook instead of “guessing and doing things on the run.”

The DNP list

Kevin Faulk did not practice yesterday and neither did center Dan Connolly, tight end Benjamin Watson, wide receiver Sam Aiken, and defensive lineman Le Kevin Smith were not present during the media portion of practice.

Guard/center Russ Hochstein had limited participation in practice.

roblee@projo.com