In the Patriots’ locker room, cornerback Shawn Springs offered perspective as a player who once lost a teammate and friend. Springs was with the Redskins two years ago when safety Sean Taylor was murdered in his home in Florida. Springs and Taylor were teammates for four seasons.

“I don’t know how they’re going to respond,’’ Springs said of the Bengals. “But I know when I was in Washington, with the death of Sean, I think it brought us closer together. At that time, we were actually struggling. I think everybody, we started appreciating each other more. When we play a sport, sometimes we take it for granted how lucky we are, how fortunate we are to be in the position we’re in. Guys started saying, ‘I love you, man.’ The whole organization came together and kept fighting.’’

Four days after Taylor died, the Redskins played the Bills. On the first play of the game, the Redskins’ defense took the field with 10 players.

“We left a space open for Sean,’’ Springs said. “That was unbelievable. Coach Gregg Williams decided to do that. As an organization, we came together. Mr. [Daniel] Snyder flew the whole organization down to Miami to his funeral. It was one of the classiest moves I’ve ever seen. I think it changed the whole season.’’

Henry died yesterday, a day after suffering injuries after being thrown from the back of a truck following a domestic dispute with his fiancée in Charlotte, N.C. Henry was on injured reserve because of a broken left forearm and was away from the team.

Jeff Rowe, a quarterback on the Patriots’ practice squad, knew Henry from his time with the Bengals in 2007.

“He was working really hard to change his life,’’ Rowe said. “Probably the saddest part is, he was such a great guy. I know everyone there absolutely loved him. He’s the guy to be around. He was so kind, such a nice person. So easy to talk to. Just wonderful.

“He was incredibly talented. His potential was unbelievable.’’

Earlier this season, Patriots rookie cornerback Darius Butler was getting ready for a game against Tennessee when he heard that Jasper Howard, a friend and former teammate at the University of Connecticut, was fatally stabbed after a dispute outside the student union.

In talking with former teammates still at UConn, Butler said there were constant reminders of Howard.

“You can see his locker and are surrounded by it, so it was hard for the guys at UConn because they were surrounded by it being on campus,’’ Butler said.

Defensive end Jarvis Green said the news brought back thoughts of former Patriot Marquise Hill, who died in May 2007 after his jet ski capsized on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans.

“We’ve experienced it and it’s tough,’’ Green said. “It’s tough for anybody to lose a teammate and a family member. I send my blessing to the Bengals organization and I send my blessing to the Chris Henry family. You just got to keep living and be strong, that’s all I can say.’’

Fred Taylor (ankle) did not practice after having limited participation Wednesday. Ty Warren (ankle) and Vince Wilfork (foot) sat out for the second consecutive day.

The Bills practiced without wide receiver Terrell Owens (illness), tackle Jonathan Scott (eye), and offensive lineman Kendall Simmons (shoulder).

The forecast for Sunday calls for a 30 percent chance of snow flurries and winds from the north at 7 miles per hour. The high will be 28 degrees and the low 22. There was no snow at Gillette Stadium yesterday, but winds whipped around at 13 miles per hour and the windchill was 7 degrees.

“It helps to get us out in the elements so it’s not like it’s the first time we’re dealing with it because the ball does come off your foot a little bit different when it’s cold and you have to deal with the wind and stuff like that,’’ punter Chris Hanson said.

Last season, the Patriots experienced extreme conditions in Buffalo, as gusts up to 60 miles per hour wreaked havoc. Despite that, Hanson had three punts for 135 yards in the 13-0 win and was selected the AFC special teams player of the week.

Aiken, now the Patriots’ special teams captain, tried to bring to New England the ideas and techniques he learned from esteemed Bills special teams coach Bobby April.

“They make everything a competition,’’ Aiken said.

April hung up a list of goals in the locker room at the start of each week. He gave out weekly awards for the player who made the most tackles or downed the most punts inside the 20-yard line, for example. The tactic worked.

“It’s something that they harp on,’’ Aiken said. “Year in and year out, they always have a top team in special teams.’’

Aiken gave April credit for making him a valuable special teams player. April’s coaching of specific techniques, like how to recover after getting beat by a block, stuck with Aiken.

Aiken had emerged as the Patriots’ third wideout before he sat out last week’s game with a shoulder injury. He had limited participation in practice Wednesday and said, “We’ll see,’’ when asked about his chances of playing Sunday. If he can play, Aiken will face his former team for the fourth time.

“It’s definitely fun,’’ Aiken said. “Some of the guys used to always call me up before. Now I don’t expect the calls. I just talk to them after the game.’’

The performance of Byrd, also a rookie, isn’t surprising to Chung, who has one interception and 26 tackles.

“I know he has very good hands and very good instincts, some of the best I’ve seen,’’ Chung said. “I mean, that’s from me, and I’ve practiced with him.’’

Incognito shrugged off the comments yesterday after his first day of practice.

“I have a reputation around the league for being a less than model citizen,’’ he said. “Some guys on teams really dislike playing against me. So I can see where Kawika’s coming from. I’ve probably done some cheap stuff to him in the past, but now we’re members of the same team and working towards the same goal, and that’s getting this club as many wins as possible. I knew something like that would pop up, but it’s not a big deal.’’

Mitchell quickly wrote an apology after his initial blistering remarks. “I said what I said bout iggy and it’s over,’’ he wrote. “Everything else will b handled n house. We’ve had our moments before when KC played SL. I was wrong 4 startin sumthin.’’

Material from the Associated Press and Albert R. Breer and Michael Vega of the Globe staff was used in this report.