-- Ten days after suffering a minor injury to his right throwing hand, New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton participated in practice as the team opened mandatory minicamp in Foxborough.

I'd expect him this week too," Belichick said Monday before the team took to the practice field.

Belichick had left open the possibility that Newton could face a challenge for the starting job when the team shifts from a spring teaching mode to more of an evaluation mode at the start of training camp in late July.