The 2026 offseason has not been all that kind to players across the league, with several starters suffering injuries at training camp or during the preseason, either ending their year before it even began or being placed on injured reserve, meaning they'll miss the first four games.
The Patriots have had the unfortunate luck of dealing with that, too, and now we're hearing the first real update on one of their most important starters less than two weeks before their season opener against the Seahawks.
In the midst of roster cutdowns, the Boston Herald's Doug Kyed reported that special team ace Brenden Schooler will be placed on NFI/IR, officially setting his return date to Week 5 at the earliest.
The safety has been away from the team all summer long, dealing with an undisclosed injury that the Patriots haven't discussed much over the past few months. That made it seem he wasn't anywhere close to returning to practice, and now that's official.
It's a huge blow to their special teams unit and now there are going to be even more questions about the state of the roster.
The Patriots might need to look for more help on special teams with Brenden Schooler sidelined
Despite what sounded like an optimistic update on their most notable injured players last week, the Patriots will likely announce Schooler's absence once their roster is officially assembled.
It immediately puts immense pressure on the rest of the special teams unit, as the face of the group won't be suiting up for the first four games, which will also be some of their most challenging of the season.
They kick things off in Seattle, then play the Steelers, Jaguars in Jacksonville, and Bills in Buffalo. Other than a late-season stretch, it's arguably the worst month of their season, and being without Schooler, who has consistently made plays that put things back in the Patriots' favor, could prove to be devastating.
We've seen how a poorly performing special teams unit can change a game with one bad play, which has made Schooler even more valuable over the years, and now they'll have to try and overcome his absence.
It could mean that after making the initial roster, the Patriots will look to the waiver wire and the available free agents to see if anyone can help fill in the void. It would be the smartest thing they could do if they want to make sure they are at their absolute best, even if none are up to the level that Schooler has proven to be.
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