Vincent Valentine Injury: Updates on Patriots DT's Back and Return

New England Patriots defensive tackle Vincent Valentine was dealing with a back injury ahead of Super Bowl LI on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. However, he has been cleared to return.

Continue for updates. 

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Valentine Active vs. Falcons

Sunday, Feb. 5

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

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Valentine Important Piece on Patriots Defensive Line

Valentine has been one of the Patriots' unsung defensive heroes this season. He was a third-round draft pick out of Nebraska, so he did arrive with some hype as a rookie. 

Yet few could have predicted how effective Valentine would be for head coach Bill Belichick playing behind Alan Branch and Malcom Brown.

Through Week 13, Louie Benjamin of Pro Football Focus noted that Valentine had the second-best run stop percentage among rookie defensive tackles. 

The Patriots led the NFL in scoring defense because of their versatility on the defensive line with players like Valentine, Brown, Branch, Trey Flowers and Jabaal Sheard. Their secondary is terrific at holding opposing receivers in check, as evidenced by Antonio Brown having just 77 yards on seven catches in the AFC Championship Game.