Through the first three weeks of the 2025 season, the Patriots have been fortunate on the injury front, which hasn't been the case across the league. Beyond the continued absence of Christian Gonzalez, who is reportedly making his season debut this Sunday, they haven't dealt with players missing games due to injuries suffered in a game.
That was only bound to end sooner or later, and now they're appearing to be down one of their most important starters on offense going into a must-win game against the Panthers in Week 4.
The latest injury report released on Thursday points to the offensive line being down rookie left guard Jared Wilson, who has put on an impressive performance to start the season. He didn't practice on Wednesday either due to a reported ankle and knee injury and remained sidelined today.
Patriots Thursday injury report: https://t.co/hkfhHszPOp pic.twitter.com/F4AWqH6LBL
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 25, 2025
That means the Patriots will have to rely on the limited depth they have on the offensive line
Jared Wilson is on par to miss his first NFL game for the Patriots in Week 4
Throughout the summer, Wilson competed with returning center/left guard Ben Brown for the starting role on offense. It appeared early on that the rookie won the job, and once the season began, it was clear the 2025 third-rounder would be on the field for Week 1.
His NFL debut didn't go perfectly, as it likely wouldn't, but he has improved over the next two games, and he hasn't allowed a single quarterback hit on Drake Maye over the last two weeks. He has become a crucial part of their offense's success, so having him replaced by Brown isn't terrible, but not ideal.
Brown came to the Patriots via the Raiders' practice squad last season and became the starting center for much of the year. He made the roster this year as a depth piece and will now be called up to replace Wilson on Sunday.
It will be a tall task to fill the rookie's shoes already, especially since Wilson has had a clean performance in two of their closest games, and hopefully Brown can do it in a way that doesn't make Wilson's absence apparent the entire game.