The Patriots are heading into their matchup against the Chargers with a handful of players finally returning from injury, the most recent being linebacker Robert Spillane. Just last week, left tackle Will Campbell and defensive tackle Milton Williams returned, but a few remain questionable before Sunday's game, including DT Khyiris Tonga.
The under-the-radar free agency signing has become an integral part of the Patriots' defensive efforts this season, and has even been used on offense as an extra lineman. Tonga has been a massive boost to their production on both sides of the ball, but it's looking increasingly likely that he won't be suited up this weekend.
As reported by ESPN's Mike Reiss, Tonga was not present for Thursday's practice, and he was absent from Wednesday's, too.
Since those are crucial practices ahead of the team's biggest game of the season, there's a high chance he won't be healthy enough to play in Sunday's game, and that's a massive loss for the team overall.
Scene setter: As defensive linemen focus on technique at practice, there is no sign of Khyiris Tonga (foot) for the second straight day — putting his availability for Sunday night in question. pic.twitter.com/3z1kJN2FG6
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 8, 2026
The Patriots need a game plan for dealing with Khyiris' Tonga's likely absence
Given how many players deal with injuries late in the season, it was expected that the Patriots would be down some of their key starters if they made it to the playoffs. Now that they're about to play in the first round as the No. 2 seed, it's looking more like they'll be without Tonga, and they'll have to figure out how to acclimate without him.
In his absence, they have used offensive tackle Thayer Munford Jr., but he also missed practice on Thursday, and there haven't been many updates on his status.
That's not a great development ahead of a game against a thriving defensive line, and that'll be a challenge for the Patriots' young offensive group to overcome.
Surely, Josh McDaniels will have a plan up his sleeve for the worst-case scenario, which would be Munford and Tonga both missing the game, but who that will be is hard to guess.
Regardless, they'll have a game plan in place to deal with no matter what circumstance they're put in and we'll have to wait and see how they fare.