Rex Burkhead, Patrick Chung, Nate Ebner all ruled out vs WAS

Rex Burkhead, Patrick Chung, and Nate Ebner were all officially ruled out ahead of the New England Patriots’ Week 5 game against the Washington Redskins.

Out of the five players the New England Patriots originally listed on their Friday injury report as being questionable for Sunday’s tilt against the Washington Redskins, three have now been officially ruled out per the Patriots’ own Twitter account. Running back Rex Burkhead and safeties Patrick Chung and Nate Ebner are all set to sit out Week 5.

Rex Burkhead is nursing a lingering foot injury that won’t seem to go away. While he managed to play through the pain last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, keen observers noticed he was relegated to only occasional snaps on special teams… a far cry from the significant role he’d played on offense through the first three weeks of the season.

In his absence, fans should expect an increased role for Sony Michel and James White. There’s also a chance that Brandon Bolden and rookie Damien Harris could see some snaps, too… you never know what you’re going to get with Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels, after all.

While Patrick Chung and Nate Ebner both play safety, Chung is an every-down defensive starter, whereas Ebner plays exclusively on special teams. The former is dealing with a heel injury, while the latter has been battling a groin injury for the past two weeks.

The early assumption is that Terrence Brooks – who signed with the Patriots this offseason after two seasons with the division-rival New York Jets – will step into the lineup to replace Chung at strong safety. Jordan Richards – who was just acquired by the team this week – could be in line to replace Ebner on special teams.

The fact that receiver Julian Edelman and linebacker Dont’a Hightower both remain “questionable” as opposed to “out” for this game is at least a mildly-encouraging development for the Pats. Edelman, like Burkhead, was able to play through the pain of a chest injury last Sunday, while Hightower sat out the win over Buffalo with a bad shoulder.

With the way both units have been playing of late, it’s probably a fair assumption to state that the New England offense needs Edelman a whole lot more than the New England defense needs Hightower.

Both have been extremely important players to the Patriots for years now, and neither one’s absence should be dismissed lightly. That said, the defense is playing some of the best football of Bill Belichick’s Patriots tenure through the first four games of the season. And while the offense looked sharp in easy wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins in Weeks 1 and 2 of the season, respectively, it began to slow down and sputter starting in the second half of the Week 3 victory over the Jets.

A healthy Edelman could potentially go a long way toward sparking the Patriots’ passing attack, which didn’t look up to its normal lethal standards in a narrow win over the Bills in Week 4. New England could also use a strong bounceback effort from Edelman’s fellow receiver Josh Gordon – as well as quarterback Tom Brady, even, who posted one of his worst statistical games as an NFL player last Sunday.