First Patriots injury report for Week 5 couldn't be much worse
It's finally midweek in the Patriots' preparations to face off against the Dolphins for the first time during the 2024 season, and it couldn't be a more unfortunate time for them to play a divisional rival.
The injury bug continues to plague the league and has made its way to New England. Starting center David Andrews will soon undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. This is a huge blow to an already questionable offensive line, which has been allowing the most pressure on quarterbacks in the entire NFL through four games.
Losing their best performer and another captain to injury is far from what the Patriots need right now, heading into a game that would be considered a winnable game under very different circumstances.
Unfortunately, Andrews isn't the only starter dealing with an ailment this week. Kyle Dugger is also reportedly set to miss some time, which is not a great development for a defense that has really struggled in recent weeks.
On top of it all, the offensive line continues to deal with the worst possible scenarios, as more players are not participating in practice this week to really lean out the already depleted depth. That was represented in the Patriots' first injury report ahead of Week 5, as the list gets longer and longer by the week.
DID NOT PARTICIPATE | LIMITED PARTICIPATION |
|---|---|
C David Andrews (shoulder) | TE Jaheim Bell (neck) |
S Kyle Dugger (ankle) | WR Kendrick Bourne (knee) |
WR K.J. Osborn (shoulder) | LB Anfernee Jennings (shoulder) |
S Jabrill Peppers (shoulder) | CB Jonathan Jones (shoulder) |
T Caedan Wallace (ankle) | G Michael Jordan (ankle) |
C Nick Leverett (ankle) | |
T Vederian Lowe (knee) | |
S Marte Mapu (calf) | |
G Layden Robinson (ankle/wrist) | |
LB Sione Takitaki (knee) |
It's the unfortunate reality that the Patriots will now need to work around as if they didn't already have enough to figure out. It feels like the beginning of the end of what little hope they had to be successful this season, which is not a wonderful feeling for fans to have after just the first month of the season.
However, this year was expected to be rough, and it looks like the NFL universe decided to make it the most difficult start to a season possible.
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