Nashville, TN – The Patriots are readying for a matchup with the Titans at Nissan Stadium, and there's good pre-game news on the injury front for New England on Sunday.
After being listed as questionable heading into Week 7, WR Stefon Diggs (chest) and LB Harold Landry III (ankle) are officially active for Sunday's tilt. The Patriots game-day inactives are S Jaylinn Hawkins (hamstring), CB Charles Woods (knee), LB Anfernee Jennings, DT Eric Gregory, G Caedan Wallace, and QB Tommy DeVito is the emergency third quarterback.
Starting with Diggs, the Patriots star wideout was officially questionable due to a chest injury, but was trending in the right direction toward the end of the week. The 31-year-old leads the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards while emerging as a leader in the locker room. With Diggs, the wide receiver room has been a bright spot. This season, the Patriots rank 11th in receiving yards by wide receivers (879) after ranking last in the NFL in wide-receiver production in 2024. Diggs, third-year WRs Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas, and veteran Mack Hollins have the Pats wideouts headed in the right direction.
Along with the veterans, undrafted rookie Efton Chism III is active for the second consecutive week. Chism took over as the Patriots primary kickoff returner last week, which will likely continue vs. the Titans. Fellow rookie wideout Kyle Williams is also trying to break out in his first season. Williams has flashed downfield separation ability but has been behind the veterans on the depth chart (16.9% snap rate) and is still trying to get on the same page with QB Drake Maye.
Drake Maye's Supporting Cast vs. Titans
OL - LT Campbell, LG Wilson, C Bradbury, RG Onwenu, RT Moses
WR - Diggs, Boutte, Hollins, Douglas, Williams, Chism III
TE/FB - Henry, Hooper, Westover
RB - Stevenson, Henderson, Jennings
The final piece on offense was the Patriots elevating RB Terrell Jennings for the second consecutive week. Jennings will serve as the Pats third running back behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson, while also having a role on kickoff returns. The Pats offensive line will also be the same for the sixth time in seven games.
On defense, New England will continue to manage injuries at edge defender this week. Starting EDGE K'Lavon Chaissson missed the team's Week 5 win over the Bills with a knee injury. Then, edge rushers Anfernee Jennings (ankle) and Keion White (elbow) missed the Patriots Week 6 victory vs. the Saints. Now, Landry is coming into Sunday's game against the Titans with an ankle injury that he suffered in the first quarter in New Orleans. Landry only missed a few snaps vs. the Saints, but didn't practice until Friday, when he was a full participant.
Landry is active for his return to Tennessee to face the team that drafted him in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The veteran edge rusher spent the first seven seasons of his career in Nashville, ranking seventh all-time in franchise history with 50.5 sacks. Last offseason, the Titans released Landry, opening the door for him to reunite with head coach Mike Vrabel in New England. As much as Vrabel's return is a main storyline, Landry showing out against his former team that released him in March is also noteworthy to monitor on Sunday.
The Patriots will have four edge rushers active this week: Chaisson, Landry, White, and Ponder. When healthy, Chaisson and Landry have played most of the snaps as the starting EDGE tandem, with Chaisson rushing over the left tackle and Landry over the right tackle. The Titans starting tackles, Dan Moore Jr. (LT) and J.C. Latham (RT), have struggled at times this season, making those matchups that New England can exploit. Somewhat surprisingly, undrafted rookie Elijah Ponder gets the nod over veteran Anfernee Jennings, likely because of Ponder contributing on special teams.
Next, starting S Jaylinn Hawkins will miss his second straight game due to a hamstring injury. Hawkins, who traveled to Tennessee, had a chance to play after returning in a limited capacity for the final two practices this week. However, Hawkins' return to the lineup will have to wait at least another week. In his place, S Kyle Dugger will likely start for Hawkins as he did in Week 6. Dugger went from playing one snap in Buffalo to all 56 snaps vs. the Saints last week. Although he was on the scene for a 53-yard completion on the Saints first play from scrimmage on a corner blitz, Dugger settled in and played well on the whole vs. New Orleans.
The last puzzle piece for the Patriots defense was at cornerback with Woods (knee) inactive. Over the last two weeks, the Pats cornerback trio of Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Marcus Jones has been rock-solid, so Woods only played six snaps as New England's fourth corner. That said, Woods did have a significant role on special teams, playing 47.5% of the special teams snaps in the first six weeks. The Patriots elevated CB Miles Battle from the practice squad as depth and a likely special-teams replacement, while CB Alex Austin is another option for New England in the fourth corner spot with Woods inactive.
Along with attempting to extend their winning streak to four games, the Patriots are trying to accomplish something they haven't done in the Super Bowl era: win three consecutive road games in a three-week span during the regular season. The last time New England accomplished that feat was when they were the Boston Patriots in the 1961 season. At 4-2, a win would see the Patriots surpass their win total from all of last season in Week 7 of the 2025 season.
The Patriots visit the Titans at Nissan Stadium with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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