Patriots inactives list for Week 11 game against the LA Rams

The New England Patriots welcome the Los Angeles Rams to Gillette Stadium in Week 11 for their first home matchup with the Super Bowl LVI Champions since the 2016 season. Neither team is having their best seasons, but the Rams are hoping to use a win over the Patriots to get back on track and reopen their path to the playoffs.

Their embarrassing loss to the Dolphins last week was quite a wake-up call for the talented team, especially offensively, and taking advantage of another struggling team like the Patriots would easily give them the morale boost needed to continue the rest of the season on a good note.

The Patriots hope to continue building upon the win they accomplished over the Bears in Week 10, while also developing a new culture under the new regime. Drake Maye has already established himself firmly as the new face of the franchise, so his development and progression are the most essential parts of their season moving forward.

All eyes will be on the offense again because of that, even more so now that the wide receiver room has been cut down with the release of Tyquan Thornton. That likely means we will see Kendrick Bourne back on the field this week after he was purposely not used against the Bears.

We are also expected to see the season debuts of Christian Barmore, who was just activated from the NFI list, and newly acquired defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, both of whom are projected to make immediate impacts on the defensive line.

Full Inactives List for the New England Patriots

*List will be updated when official inactives are announced

Key absences and their impact

Offensive impact

Despite the release of Tyquan Thornton clearing a space in the wide receiver room, K.J. Osborn is a healthy scratch for Sunday's game. This means Kendrick Bourne will be back in action against the Rams, which fans believed should've been the way things went last week.

It's possible we've seen the end of Osborn on the field for the Patriots, as the coaching staff had hinted at knowing what lineup they wanted from their receiving corps over the past week.

Defensive impact

Because Deatrich Wise Jr. didn't practice at all on the days leading up to Sunday's game, it is expected he won't be suited up against the Rams. This is a significant loss for the Patriots defense, especially since he has been one of their main contributors on the defensive line. His absence will certainly be felt in this game.

The only silver lining is the return of Christian Barmore and the debut of Yannick Ngakoue, both of whom can make the loss of Wise a bit easier for the defense to handle against a very talented Rams offense.

Not having Marte Mapu in the lineup is also not great, as he has been a big help in the secondary in Kyle Dugger's place over the past month. Although Dugger will be back on the field today, it would have been even better to have Mapu by his side.

Full Inactives List for the Los Angeles Rams

Read more: Patriots' defense gifted huge advantage ahead of Week 11 matchup with the Rams

*List will be updated when official inactives are announced

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