New England Patriots rule out 3 more players vs. Buffalo Bills
The New England Patriots ruled out three more players ahead of their game against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
The injury bug has bit the New England Patriots throughout the season. That will not change in Week 8 when they travel to take on their AFC East rivals in the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football.
Coming into the weekend, we already knew a few players that would be sidelined. The Patriots had announced that tight end Jacob Hollister, cornerback Eric Rowe and offensive lineman Brian Schwenke would be sidelined. Late last night, the team added more players to the list.
New England will be without another two starters on Monday Night. Running back Sony Michel, offensive tackle Marcus Cannon and defensive end Geneo Grissom were all announced out as well.
Mike Reiss shared the information on his Twitter account.
Patriots have downgraded RB Sony Michel (knee), OT Marcus Cannon (concussion) and DE Geneo Grissom (ankle) to out. Barring an IR move, only one more player to declare inactive, with TE Jacob Hollister, CB Eric Rowe and C/G Brian Schwenke ruled out yesterday.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 28, 2018
Michel suffered his knee injury in the Week 7 game against the Chicago Bears. The injury looked horrible when it happened, as Michel fumbled because of the pain he was in. However, his tests came back rather clean, as there was no structural damage.
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That is excellent news for the Patriots and Michel. Michel had been playing well as the lead back, so New England will have some big shoes to fill. James White will have a prominent role once again, but the team will probably like to limit his carries. Kenjon Barner will mix in on early downs as well.
Without Cannon, the Patriots will have to dip into their offensive line depth. LaAdrian Waddle should fill in at right tackle for Cannon. Grissom has not played since Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
While he has not been listed as out, people will also keep an eye on tight end Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski missed last week’s game with a back injury as he didn’t even travel with the team. He traveled with the team this week but is still listed as questionable.
The Bears presented a much bigger challenge for the Patriots than the Bills will, and they were able to knock them off without Gronkowski.
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New England should think long and hard about holding out Gronkowski if he is not 100 percent healthy as they should be able to handle Buffalo without him.