Alan Branch Injury: Updates on Patriots DT's Toe and Return

New England Patriots defensive tackle Alan Branch was dealing with a toe injury ahead of Super Bowl 51 against the Atlanta Falcons, but he has been cleared to return.

Continue for updates.

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Branch Active vs. Falcons

Sunday, Feb. 5 

The Patriots announced Branch will play against the Falcons on Sunday.

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Branch Vital to Patriots' Depth

Branch, 32, registered 49 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble during the 2016 regular season. He has been excellent for the Patriots as a run-stuffer this season, controlling the interior line of scrimmage and helping lead the team to the third-ranked rush defense in 2016.

In the postseason, the Patriots have given up just 159 rushing yards in two games.

"Alan has done a great job for us," Belichick said before the Super Bowl, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. "Along with his play, which is certainly significant, one of the things that has been really impressive about him has been his play time. In addition to his overall production, he's played a lot more than he has in quite a while in terms of number of plays."

As Reiss noted, Branch led all defensive tackles by playing 60.1 percent of the team's snaps during the regular season.