New England Patriots Tuesday Injuries
The New England Patriots players who did not travel with the team yesterday to make the joint practices and scrimmage with the Philadelphia Eagles should be considered “out” for Friday’s preseason opener against the Eagles. The Patriots were missing 12 players yesterday, with the obvious absences being Rob Gronkowski, Armond Armstead, and Mark Harrison. One position where the Patriots are especially thin at right now is on the interior of the offensive line, as they are dealing with several injuries there and weren’t exactly deep at guard to begin with.
New England Patriots defensive end
Jermaine Cunningham(96) celebrates a fumble recovery with defensive end
Chandler Jones(95) during the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Cornerback Ras-I Dowling is not in Philadelphia, Jermaine Cunningham is also out, safety Nate Ebner seems to have suffered a recent ailment and was not in attendance either, and the Patriots are also without bubble wide receiver Michael Jenkins. The only old man of a very young wide receivers corps, Jenkins seems to have already lost his job to top performing UDFA Kenbrell Thompkins, who was once again a standout during the scrimmage yesterday. The fact that Jenkins is also injured means that he will need an injury or the Patriots deciding to keep seven receivers in order to make the roster.
Those aren’t the only Patriots players who are injured, because I saved the offensive linemen for last. Dan Connolly is still not healthy enough, the other right guard in Marcus Cannon is also out, depth tackles Markus Zusevics and Kevin Haslam are injured, and even Tyronne Green is injured. Green has a good chance of making the New England Patriots roster following the release of Nick McDonald (still don’t know why they released him, other than the fact that they might have a deal to sign him once he’s healthy again), as he has been doing well at camp. The Patriots are dealing with injuries at both tackle and guard, and guard is so thin now that swing tackle Will Svitek is showing off his versatility by starting at right guard.