FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Trent Brown still hasn’t returned to the Patriots’ practice field since serving as a healthy scratch in Buffalo.

Brown missed practice on Wednesday — he was listed with an illness again on the injury report — and was nowhere to be found on Thursday, either. Brown has now missed four practices in the past two weeks with the illness designation, despite coming off the injury report last Friday and posting a number of social media photos from a New Year’s Eve party over the weekend.

According to the Boston Herald, the free-agent-to-be already has his next destination picked out.

“Brown had dealt with knee and ankle injuries in late October, and had his mind on free agency,” Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed wrote. “After a surprising upset at Pittsburgh on Dec. 7, Brown openly discussed plans to play for an NFC team in the team locker room.”

It’d make a lot of sense if that was the Dallas Cowboys, who are hours from Brown’s ranch in Texas and have high-profile tackle Tyron Smith heading into free agency.

Elsewhere on the practice field, Myles Bryant returned from an illness and the Patriots had perfect attendance beyond Brown. With snow in the forecast for Sunday’s season finale against the Jets, quarterback Bailey Zappe is looking forward to playing in some New England weather.

“It’ll be exciting. I’m from Texas,” Zappe said. “We don’t really play in snow very much, so it’s going be fun. It’s going to be a great environment, last game, try to end the year out strong. So, I’m ready for it.”

DOLPHINS: A fire at the $6.9 million home owned by Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill was started by a child playing with a cigarette lighter in a bedroom, a fire official said.

“It was an accidental fire,” Davie Fire Marshal Robert Taylor told The Associated Press.

Taylor did not provide the age of the child, or the amount of damage caused by the fire. He said the investigation is now closed.

The house is located in Southwest Ranches, which is about 30 miles northwest of Miami, and was purchased by Hill in May 2022 shortly after the Kansas City Chiefs traded him to the Dolphins.

Miami television station WSVN showed a large amount of black smoke coming from the roof as firefighters doused the house with water. Firefighters appeared to be working on the highest parts of the structure. Many of the bedrooms, a home theatre and a den were among the rooms upstairs, according to the property listing.

Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told reporters gathered outside the house on Wednesday that some family members were home at the time of the fire.

“He and his family are safe,” Rosenhaus said. “No one was injured No. 1, no pets, so for that, we’re very grateful. We’re very grateful to the firefighters that put the fire out. Thankfully, the fire was contained to a limited area in the home. Obviously, there’ll be some smoke and water damage. It’s very difficult for anybody obviously to have your home catch on fire, but Tyreek was handling it, he and his family, with as much poise as you could hope.”

Hill has not yet commented on the matter and was not at Dolphins practice Thursday.

Hill is currently the NFL’s leader in receiving yards with 1,717. He is the only player in NFL history to record at least 1,700 yards in multiple seasons. He is hoping to help lead the Dolphins to a win over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. A victory would clinch the AFC East for Miami for the first time since 2008.
Hill’s teammates expressed their concern and support for him.

“You don’t think that it’s ever going to happen to you until it does,” fullback Alec Ingold said. “It’s something as a team, we’ve got to be able to come together and make sure that we can reach out to Tyreek and be human beings with him and make sure everything is squared away and we can do everything we possibly can to help our teammate.”

RAVENS: Free-agent running back Dalvin Cook is signing with the Ravens for the playoffs, his agent confirmed to The Baltimore Sun.

Cook, 28, parted ways with the Jets on Tuesday after less than a year in New York. Baltimore was one of at least two teams interested in him, including the Dallas Cowboys. He will join the Ravens’ practice squad after passing through waivers.

A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Cook signed with the Jets this summer after the arrival of future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But the 2017 second-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings never got his footing in New York, rushing for just 214 yards on 67 carries with no touchdowns.

COWBOYS: The Dallas Cowboys added two of their former players to the practice squad in offensive lineman La’el Collins and linebacker Damien Wilson, who haven’t played in 2023.

Dallas also added two younger players in receiver Racey McMath and former Texas Tech running back SaRodorick Thompson.

The Cowboys released receiver Martavis Bryant and three others from the practice squad to make room for the additions.