As one would expect on a short week, the Patriots have a lengthy final injury report heading into Thursday night's showdown with the Jets at Gillette Stadium.
On Wednesday, the Patriots ruled out TE Austin Hooper (concussion), WR Kayshon Boutte (hamstring), RB Rhamondre Stevenson (toe), and LB Christian Elliss (hip). New England also listed RB Terrell Jennings (knee) and DL Joshua Farmer (ankle) as questionable for Thursday Night Football. As for New York, the Jets ruled out star WR Garrett Wilson (knee) and starting CB Azareye'h Thomas (concussion), while starting EDGE Will McDonald IV (quad) is among five Jets who are questionable.
Starting on offense, New England is getting banged up at the skill positions 10 games into the season. Stevenson will miss his third consecutive game due to his toe injury, while Boutte will sit out his second straight games after injuring his hamstring in the Week 9 win over the Falcons. Plus, Hooper will miss Thursday night's contest after suffering a concussion in last week's win in Tampa Bay.
Hooper has been a key role player for the Patriots over the last two seasons, playing on 55.8% of the team's offensive snaps while also being on the field goal protection unit. Along with top TE Hunter Henry, Hooper has been one-half of one of the more productive tight end tandems in the NFL. Over the last two seasons, the Patriots rank fifth in receiving yards by tight ends (1,721), with Hooper contributing 13 catches for 174 receiving yards and a touchdown in 2025.
On top of his contributions as a pass-catcher, Hooper is also the Patriots best in-line blocking tight end, with New England playing out of 12-personnel groupings (2 WR, 2 TE, 1 RB) on 26.6% of their offensive snaps. The two tight end sets featuring Henry and Hooper have been a big part of the Patriots offense, so playing without Hooper on Thursday night will throw a wrench in things, especially in the run and play-action passing game, where the veteran tight end is a key blocker.
Although they still have Henry and FB Jack Westover, the Patriots don't have a traditional third tight end on their 53-man roster. The Pats could elevate either C.J. Dippre or Thomas Odukoya from the practice squad as tight end depth. Dippre has been with the Patriots since training camp, while Odukoya just joined the team in October, so one would think Dippre would be the next man up as a tight end known for his in-line blocking.
New England has converted DT Khyiris Tonga into a lead-blocker in short-yardage situations, so the Tonga package could be featured prominently on Thursday night. The Patriots might also rely on an eligible offensive lineman in their run formations to get some blocking power on the field, with tackles Vederian Lowe and rookie Marcus Bryant as candidates to be featured in a six-offensive-linemen package.
For the Patriots to run the ball, they obviously need someone to carry the rock. Luckily, rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson, who broke out with 55-yard and 69-yard touchdown runs last week, won't carry an injury designation heading into Thursday night's game – he's good to go.
In the long term, the good news is that Stevenson appears to be getting closer to returning after he was limited in Tuesday's practice, an improvement from being a non-participant in previous practices since suffering his toe injury. However, Stevenson is not yet ready to return, while Jennings is questionable after injuring his knee last week. Practice-squad RB D'Ernest Johnson is a top candidate to be elevated for the third straight game (this would be Johnson's final standard elevation).
At wide receiver, reports indicate that Boutte suffered a minor hamstring injury, but he remains out on a short week. After playing the Jets on Thursday night, the Pats won't play again for 10 days when they visit the Bengals in Week 12 (Nov. 23). Last week, WR Mack Hollins (six catches, 106 yards) and rookie Kyle Williams (72-yard TD) performed well, so it makes sense that the Patriots are erring on the side of caution with Boutte.
Moving over to the defense, linebacker is another position group where the Patriots have some injuries. Elliss will miss his second consecutive game due to his hip injury, and now his replacement, Jack Gibbens, is managing a hamstring injury. New England's run defense, which will face the third-most explosive rush offense in football this week, was a bit more leaky than usual in Tampa Bay, allowing a season-high in yards per carry (5.4), rushing success rate (57.1%), and a season-worst five explosive runs.
The good news is that Gibbens won't carry an injury designation into Thursday night's game – he's good to go. The Patriots also have linebackers Jahlani Tavai and Marte Mapu as depth. Since returning from injury, Tavai has only played 22.5% of the defensive snaps in base defense packages, while Mapu has primarily played as a coverage linebacker. If called upon, Tavai could play on early-downs and other run situations while Mapu plays in the passing game, splitting the snaps at the linebacker spot next to captain Robert Spillane at the second level of the defense.
Defensively, another injury that's worth monitoring is to star DT Christian Barmore. Barmore was in and out of last week's win over the Bucs due to a back injury. The stud interior defender was a full participant in Tuesday's practice and won't carry an injury designation into Thursday night's game. Still, Barmore hasn't been as disruptive recently, failing to log a single quarterback pressure with only one run stuff in the last two weeks. We'll see how effective he is vs. the Jets this week.
Due to it being a Thursday night game, the Patriots will have until 4 p.m. ET on Thursday to elevate players from the practice squad. The top candidates to be elevated are RB D'Ernest Johnson, TE CJ Dippre and LB Darius Harris, who played in Elliss's spot on special teams last week.
The Patriots host the Jets in primetime with kickoff at 8:15 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium on Thursday night.
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