The Patriots are readying for a Week 6 tilt vs. the Saints in New Orleans with good pre-game news from the Caesars Superdome on Sunday.
After being listed as questionable on the injury report, CB Christian Gonzalez (hamstring) and DT Milton Williams (illness) are officially active for Sunday's game. The Patriots game-day inactives are LB Anfernee Jennings (ankle), S Jaylinn Hawkins (hamstring), DE Keion White (elbow), G Caedan Wallace, DT Eric Gregory, and QB Tommy DeVito is the emergency third quarterback.
Following a three-game absence to start the season, Gonzalez's hamstring injury popped back up on the injury report this week. The star cornerback was limited in the final two practices of the week, leading to a questionable designation heading into Sunday's game. Although it's never ideal to see the All-Pro corner on the injury report, Patriots coaches described Gonzalez's practice participation as a part of a maintenance plan to keep the starting cornerback healthy.
"He's on a plan with [Vrabel] and [director of sports performance] Frank [Piraino] with [head athletic trainer] Jim [Whalen] in the training room," cornerbacks coach Justin Hamilton said. "It's kind of a warm-up, the early portion of practice. Just to do more because some of the stuff is special teams or different things where it's a jog-through, walk-through. It's for him to just be able to get to the pace that he can go at to be able to get out there when we are in the speed periods of practice."
The Patriots lead-off practices with dynamic stretching followed by a special teams jog-through period. As two players without roles on special teams, Gonzalez and starting CB Carlton Davis typically catch passes off the jugs machine during the early practice periods. On Thursday, Gonzalez went to the lower field to continue his dynamic warm-up, which might've been part of a plan to keep the star corner loose for the team periods that follow the initial ramp-up period of practice.
Ultimately, managing Gonzalez's hamstring injury to keep him on the field is the most important thing. Still, his effectiveness and playing time will be worth monitoring. This week, Gonzalez could cover Saints WR Chris Olave, who has become QB Spencer Ratter's go-to receiver, with the second-most targets in the NFL through five weeks (54). Olave hasn't turned those targets into much production, averaging just 7.4 yards per catch with an average target depth of 8.8 yards. That said, taking out Rattler's favorite receiver will be a key to victory on Sunday.
Along with Gonzalez being active, DT Milton Williams (illness) is active after being a late addition to the injury report. Williams' workload is worth monitoring as he plays through an illness. However, the Pats defense has several injuries to withstand on Sunday. New England's depth at edge defender is being tested by a rash of injuries at outside linebacker, with Jennings and White being ruled out earlier in the week, and starting EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson returning from a knee injury after a one-week absence.
Chaisson returning to play in the same state as his alma mater helps, as the LSU product started the first four games of the season, recording 2.5 sacks and 13 total pressures. Chaisson will likely return to his starting role opposite captain Harold Landry. The Pats also elevated DE Truman Jones from the practice squad, with head coach Mike Vrabel praising Jones's practice habits earlier this week. The Harvard grad made a roster push during training camp, showing off his speed-to-power and explosiveness.
Along with Chaisson, Jones, and Landry, undrafted rookie Elijah Ponder and LB Jahlani Tavai are active. Tavai played five of his 13 seasons on the line of scrimmage in his season debut last week. The versatile linebacker can play on or off-ball linebacker, giving the Pats some flexibility in their edge rotation. Ponder also logged a hurry in his 12 snaps vs. the Bills in Week 5, so the Patriots have options to spell Chaisson and Landry.
Although it's positive news on Gonzalez and Williams, the Pats secondary is still down starting S Jaylinn Hawkins. Hawkins was ruled out earlier this week due to a hamstring injury, which could create a domino effect in the backend. S Kyle Dugger is expected to start alongside rookie Craig Woodson in Hawkins' spot. Dugger only played one snap last week, as he has taken on a reduced role as the third safety in "big" nickel or dime packages. In Buffalo, the Pats didn't use their three-safety packages, which is why Dugger didn't play much. Now, Dugger will take on a larger role, while DB Dell Pettus will likely take his spot as the big nickel.
Moving over to the offense, the big pre-game news is that undrafted rookie receiver Efton Chism III is active for the first time this season. Chism was a healthy scratch in the first five games, with the Patriots rolling with five receivers. Chism could make his NFL debut this week, with a potential role on kickoff returns as one area where he might contribute.
Top kickoff returner Antonio Gibson suffered a season-ending knee injury last week, leaving a void on both offense and special teams. Following the injury to Gibson, lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson returned kickoffs along with rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson. But putting their two healthy backs on the kickoff return unit is risky, as Gibson's injury returning a kickoff can attest. Instead, head coach Mike Vrabel indicated "other skill players" could get a chance to return kickoffs rather than subjecting Stevenson to the extra body blows. Based on his being active, Chism could be in the mix to return kickoffs, as could rookie WR Kyle Williams.
At running back, the Patriots elevated practice-squad RB Terrell Jennings as their third back. Jennings is a power runner who can take some early-down carries between the tackles, but one would expect that Henderson and Stevenson will get most of the work. Still, you need three running backs active to have game-day insurance, so Jennings was elevated from the practice squad for this week's game in New Orleans.
After pulling off an upset win over the Bills last week, the Patriots have a different test as road favorites vs. the Saints on Sunday. During the week, WR Stefon Diggs said it perfectly when Diggs stated, "To be honest, it might be a bigger test than last week." The Bills are a better team than the Saints, but Diggs's point is that it's easy to come out energized for a primetime prove-it game against a division opponent. This week, the Patriots are the darlings of the NFL following their breakout win in Buffalo, so they have to avoid a letdown in New Orleans.
The Patriots face the Saints with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET in New Orleans on Sunday.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
