New England Patriots place Dont’a Hightower on injured reserve, sign Ricky Jean-Francois
The New England Patriots have made two roster moves on the defensive side of the ball.
The New England Patriots have officially placed linebacker Dont’a Hightower on injured reserve, ESPN’s Field Yates reports. New England has also reportedly signed veteran defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois.
Patriots place LB Dont’a Hightower on injured reserve
Hightower suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the Patriots’ Week 7 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. New England hoped to place Hightower on injured reserve (IR) once linebacker Shea McClellin was eligible to return from IR in Week 10.
However, McClellin reportedly “suffered a setback” and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Hightower collected two sacks and 14 combined tackles in five games this season.
More from Musket Fire
- What trading Mac Jones during the draft can do for the Patriots
- Best and worst draft picks during the Bill Belichick era
- Early round Patriots draft picks you’ll hate now, love later
- Musket Fire Roundup: Our own final predictions for round 1
- Breaking down the Patriots’ options in the 2023 NFL Draft
New England has now placed seven players on their injured reserve: wide receivers Julian Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell, aforementioned linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Shea McClellin, rookie defensive end Derek Rivers, cornerback Cyrus Jones, and defensive tackle Vincent Valentine.
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, even though McClellin will remain on IR because he returned to practice, the Patriots still used one of their IR expected to return designations. Reiss notes the team could activate Mitchell or Valentine with their one remaining designation.
Correction: Even with Shea McClellin staying on IR, that uses up one IR-to-return designation for Patriots. So just 1 left for 2017. https://t.co/ujpH8vZFk0
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 7, 2017
During last Monday’s conference call, when asked if Mitchell could return from IR this year, head coach Bill Belichick replied:
"“I don’t know. We’ll have to see how it goes. There’s still a lot of football left. Guys that are eligible to come back – I mean, that could potentially be eligible to come back or working hard to trying to get better – they’re improving, so we’ll just see where all that takes us. I don’t know.”"
The recent signing of defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois could mean the team doesn’t believe Valentine will return, however, that is just speculation.
Patriots sign DL Ricky Jean Francois
The Patriots filled the open spot on their 53-man roster, adding veteran defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois.
Jean-Francois entered the league as a seventh-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2009. The nine-year vet has amassed 166 combined tackles, twelve sacks, twelve pass deflections, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in 115 games with the 49ers, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers.
Next: How Does The Patriots Defensive Line Grade Out Thus Far?
New England will head to Denver this Sunday for a Week 10 bout with the Broncos.