The Patriots are preparing to travel to Denver for Sunday's AFC Championship Game vs. the Broncos and there's news on the injury report regarding a few key players.
On Friday, New England ruled OLB Harold Landry III out after weeks of battling through a knee injury. The Patriots also listed WR Mack Hollins (abdomen), LB Marte Mapu (hip), DL Joshua Farmer (hamstring), and RB Terrell Jennings (concussion protocol) as questionable. After being in the league's concussion protocol this week, CB Carlton Davis III was cleared to play and won't carry an injury designation into Sunday's game in Denver.
Hollins opened his 21-day window to be activated off injured reserve by returning to practice on Thursday and was a full participant in Friday's session. The versatile wideout hasn't played since sustaining an abdomen injury in the Patriots win over the Ravens in Week 16, a blow to the offense due to Hollins' size, catch radius, and blocking ability. Hollins allows the Patriots to blur the lines between three-receiver groupings and two-receiver formations as a blocking chess piece in the run game. He is also a big target for QB Drake Maye on vertical routes and routes over the middle of the field, where his catch radius shines, with Maye looking very comfortable throwing to Hollins.
The veteran wideout finished the regular season third on the team in receptions (46) and fourth in receiving yards (550), while leading all Patriots wide receivers with 657 snaps due to his versatile skill set. Although other factors are involved, such as stingy defenses on the other side, the Patriots offense ranks 10th among 14 playoff teams in EPA per play in the playoffs, compared to a league-best +0.155 EPA per play in the regular season. During their two postseason games, Hollins has been missed, so getting him back for Sunday's championship game in Denver would be a massive boost for the Patriots offense.
As for Landry, the Pats captain tried to play through a knee injury in the postseason, but the injury will cause him to miss Sunday's game. In New England's first two playoff games, Landry has only played 27.4% of the defensive snaps, logging two total pressures and one run stuff. The Patriots have relied on veteran Anfernee Jennings and rookie Elijah Ponder in Landry's left defensive end spot opposite top edge-rusher K'Lavon Chaisson. Although he's a team leader, Jennings and Ponder have been effective filling in for Landry, so one would expect that the Patriots will continue to give the bulk of the snaps to those two.
The other bit of injury news is that starting CB Carlton Davis III cleared the league's concussion protocol on Friday â he's good to go. After intercepting two passes in the first half, Davis exited last week's win over the Texans in the fourth quarter. The Pats starting cornerback practiced in a red non-contact jersey in New England's first two practices but shed the red jersey as a full participant in Friday's practice. On Friday afternoon, Davis was cleared to play on Sunday.
Next, the Patriots might need to do some maneuvering on special teams because of an injury to LB Marte Mapu. Mapu plays on five different special teams units, including serving as the personal protector on punt protection. New England hasn't had a blocked punt this season, with special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer praising Mapu's ability to make the protection calls. If he can't play, the Patriots will need a new personal protector for P Bryce Baringer without Mapu on Sunday.
As for Denver, the Broncos ruled out starting QB Bo Nix (ankle) and backup QB Jarrett Stidham will start, as expected. Along with Nix, top RB J.K. Dobbins, who was attempting to return off injured reserve from a foot injury, was also ruled out by the Broncos. With their lead-back healthy, the Broncos were 10th in rush EPA in the first nine weeks of the season. Without Dobbins, the Broncos are only 22nd in rush EPA since Week 10. Last week, Denver's running backs only rushed 10 times for 41 yards against the Bills. The Broncos also listed starting C Luke Wattenberg (shoulder) and WR Troy Franklin (hamstring) as questionable. On a positive note for the Broncos, WR Pat Bryant cleared concussion protocol and is good to go for Sunday's playoff matchup.
New England could also decide to activate RB Terrell Jennings and DT Joshua Farmer from injured reserve. The first-year running back cleared concussion protocol earlier this week. Before his injury, Jennings was the Patriots third running back and a primary kickoff returner, a role that has gone to veteran RB D'Ernest Johnson in recent weeks. Farmer, a fourth-round draft choice, was a rotational defensive lineman during the regular season. But the Patriots have gotten contributions from DT Leonard Taylor III during the postseason.
With all those eligible to return off injured reserve this week, both teams have until 4 p.m. ET on Saturday to activate them. It's worth noting that the Patriots roster is full, so they'd need to free up a roster spot with a corresponding move. New England can elevate two players from the practice squad by Saturday's deadline, elevations that have gone to Johnson and Taylor in the Patriots first two playoff games. As always, we'll keep you updated en route to Denver about the Patriots roster moves ahead of Sunday's game.
The Patriots visit the Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High with kickoff at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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