The Patriots are preparing to host the Green Bay Packers in a massive football weekend in Foxborough, culminating in Sunday's inter-conference showdown at Gillette Stadium.
On Friday, the Patriots ruled out WR A.J. Brown (ankle/knee) and RB TreVeyon Henderson (illness) for Week 9. New England is also listing seven players as questionable for Sunday's game: TE Hunter Henry (foot), S Kevin Byard III (chest), CB Carlton Davis III (neck), WR Mack Hollins (calf), OT Morgan Moses (foot), ST Brenden Schooler (hamstring), and OL Greg Van Roten (hamstring).
Hollins and Van Roten, who both opened their 21-day practice windows this week, are eligible to return from injured reserve. The team has until 4 p.m. ET on Saturday to activate the two veterans for them to be eligible to play on Sunday. New England has now used four of their eight IR-return designations, with Hollins and Van Roten joining WR A.J. Brown and OT Marcus Bryant as returnees. WR Romeo Doubs, starting LG Alijah Vera-Tucker, and FB Reggie Gilliam are among those who could also return this season.
Along with managing injured reserve, the Patriots continue to manage injuries to QB Drake Maye's supporting cast. After a knee "flare-up" in practice last week, Brown will miss his second straight game. Brown has played in only three games this season because of ankle and knee injuries, which is disappointing given the hype around the trade and how excited he was to play for his favorite childhood team.
The star wideout has just nine catches for 101 receiving yards while appearing in 3-of-8 games this season. Brown already missed four games with a stint on injured reserve and is now missing more time due to his knee injury. That's not ideal for the Patriots offense, and neither is the potential absence of one of Maye's most reliable targets, TE Hunter Henry. Henry was injured in the second quarter after playing only eight plays vs. the Dolphins last week when he went down to make a catch breaking into the sideline.
After sitting out the first two practices this week, Henry returned in a limited capacity on Friday, a positive sign that he could give it a go Sunday. Henry leads the Pats with 29 catches and ranks second on the team with 326 receiving yards, which is 12th among tight ends this season. The Patriots captain has produced +28.6 total expected points on his 29 receptions, ranking ninth among tight ends. Maye has never played a full game in his three-year career without Henry.
That said, the hope is that Hollins's return will boost the Patriots offense on Sunday. In the first four weeks of the season, Hollins led the team in receptions (15) and receiving yards (209) as one of Maye's go-to targets. The veteran wideout has a well-rounded skill set as a blocker, a dirty-area receiver over the middle, and a large catch radius that seems to give Maye comfort when he targets Hollins downfield (6-4, 221).
If the Patriots activate Hollins, their available wide receivers would be DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III, and Hollins. At tight end, New England will likely lean on rookie Eli Raridon, while hoping Henry is available alongside blockers Cameron Latu and Tanner Arkin. Last week, lead back Rhamondre Stevenson played 45 snaps (76.3%), with spell-back Corey Kiner (11 snaps, two explosive runs) and RB Lan Larison (five snaps) behind Stevenson. On the offensive line, the expectation is the Patriots will roll with the group they ended the game with in Miami: LT Will Campbell, LG Ben Brown, C Jared Wilson, RG Matt Pryor, and RT Morgan Moses.
With the Packers coming in as the seventh-ranked defense in expected points added (EPA), it'll be a tough matchup for the shorthanded Patriots offense. Ideally, New England's mostly healthy defense could pick up some of the slack so there's less pressure on the offense to win a shootout. On Thursday, top nickel cornerback Marcus Jones was a non-participant with a foot injury. However, Jones returned to Friday's practice and won't carry an injury designation into the game – he's good to go.
The other injuries on the Patriots defense we've been monitoring are to edge rushers Dre'Mont Jones (knee/shoulder) and rookie Gabe Jacas (knee). Jacas has been terrific in his first season, leading all rookie EDGEs in run stops (10) and is second in quarterback pressures (23) behind only No. 3 overall pick David Bailey (26). However, the second-rounder didn't finish last week's game vs. the Dolphins after injuring his knee in the third quarter, while Jones has been playing through bumps and bruises all year. Like Jones, Jacas and Dre'Mont Jones are off the injury report and are good to go.
Lastly, as expected, Packers star edge rusher Micah Parsons (knee) won't play this week after opening his 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve. Parsons is working his way back from tearing his ACL and meniscus last December in a game vs. the Broncos. The goal is for Parsons to return in the coming weeks, but the star pass-rusher won't be ready to play the Patriots on Sunday. Green Bay will also be down starting C Sean Rhyan (ankle) and G Travis Glover (knee), so the Packers will be starting multiple backups on their interior offensive line.
Although most of the attention will be on Rob Gronkowski's Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony, New England will need to manage its roster on Saturday. As mentioned, the Patriots have until 4 p.m. ET on Saturday to activate Hollins and Van Roten from injured reserve. The Pats have one open roster spot, so they'd need to create another opening on the 53-man roster to make room for both veterans. The Patriots could also elevate players from the practice squad by Saturday's roster deadline – we'll keep you updated.
With several legends in attendance, including team Hall of Famers in Gronkowski and Tom Brady, the Patriots will host the Packers at 4:25 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium 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
