Danny Amendola could miss more games
New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, according to sources close to Ian Rapoport and the Boston Herald, is “almost certain” to miss Thursday’s game against the New York Jets, and now the Boston Herald’s Karen Guregian is reporting that Danny Amendola could also miss more games. Per a source close to Guregian, “Amendola’s status” after the Jets game is also “uncertain”.
New England Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola (80) catches a pass against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Patriots beat the Bills 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
This is more terrible news for the Patriots, and Danny Amendola means an awful lot to this team. He is the best and most consistent receiver on the New England Patriots, and there is no reason to argue against that. Julian Edelman should do a very good job filling in for Amendola in the meantime, but losing Amendola for more than just one game is really tough. If that happens, then I don’t anticipate him missing the Week 4 game against the Atlanta Falcons, but the Patriots are already without Shane Vereen. Zach Sudfeld and Rob Gronkowski will solidify the TE position and will be healthy by the Week 3 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but losing Amendola for a couple of games hurts.
It’s not catastrophic, though, it’s just hard to swallow. The Patriots should have enough time between the Jets and Bucs game for Amendola to heal, but it is possible that this groin injury is bad enough that Amendola will have to sit out two. This report from Guregian is certainly big news, and it will be interesting to see what other reports following up on Amendola’s injury status state. The Patriots star receiver was one of the main reasons why the team won against the Buffalo Bills, and they would have lost without him. Week 2 and possibly Week 3 will be that much harder, but the Patriots will have to win those games in spite of the injuries, because that’s what teams with Super Bowl ambitions do. And yes, the Pats really should have Super Bowl ambitions after being close to winning in each of the past two seasons.