The Patriots are in Nashville for Sunday's clash with the Titans, and the good news is that all four questionable Patriots made the trip on Saturday.
After being listed as questionable on the final injury report, star WR Stefon Diggs (chest), LB Harold Landry III (ankle), S Jaylinn Hawkins (hamstring), and CB Charles Woods (knee) all made the trip to Nashville with the team on Saturday. The Patriots also elevated RB Terrell Jennings and CB Miles Battles from the practice squad for Sunday's game in Tennessee.
Starting with Diggs, it's uncertain when the Patriots leading receiver sustained a chest injury, which has Diggs questionable for Week 7. Along with making the trip, Diggs also practiced at full capacity in Friday's final session, which is a good sign for his availability this week. Diggs leads the team in targets, receptions, and receiving yards while emerging as a leader in the locker room, so having him active is critical every week.
The wide receivers have been a bright spot for the Patriots offense. After ranking last a year ago, the Patriots wideouts rank 11th in receiving yards through six weeks (879 yards) and have caught seven touchdowns. Diggs is the leader in the room, but third-year WR Kayshon Boutte is coming off a two-touchdown performance, while WR DeMario Douglas broke out with a 53-yard touchdown last week. New England has also gotten contributions from veteran Mack Hollins as a blocker and pass-catcher.
If they're missing their top receiver, one would expect that Boutte, Douglas, and Hollins will shoulder most of the workload. The Patriots could also give more opportunities to rookie WR Kyle Williams. Williams has flashed separation ability, but is still working on the details to get on the same page as QB Drake Maye. There's potential for Williams to emerge, but the first-year wideout has only played 16.9% of the offensive snaps with several veterans ahead of him on the depth chart.
As for Landry, the veteran edge rusher suffered his ankle injury in the first quarter of last week's win over the Saints. Landry returned to the game after a brief absence, signaling that it's not a significant injury, but he sat out the first two practices this week before returning in a full capacity on Friday. Landry is also slated to return to Tennessee for the first time since leaving the Titans to reunite with head coach Mike Vrabel this offseason. The former second-round pick by the Titans spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career in Tennessee, but the Titans released Landry in March. For Landry, this is also likely a meaningful return to Tennessee.
The big free-agent addition leads the team in sacks (4.5) and total pressures (25), a key cog in the Pats defense. If he can't play, top backups Anfernee Jennings and Keion White can step into Landry's role opposite starter K'Lavon Chaisson. New England has had injury issues at edge defender, with Chaisson missing the game in Buffalo (Week 5) and Jennings and White sitting out last week's win vs. the Saints. Now, Landry is in jeopardy of missing a game, but the veteran practiced in full on Friday and made the trip on Saturday, which bodes well for his availability.
At safety, Hawkins has not yet been ruled out despite a lingering hamstring injury. The Pats starting safety missed last week's game vs. the Saints and did not participate in Wednesday's practice. Hawkins then returned for the final two practices of the week in a limited capacity. If Hawkins can't play, New England will likely rely on vet Kyle Dugger again, who started in Hawkins' place last week. After only playing one snap in Week 6, Dugger played all 56 defensive snaps vs. the Saints. He got off to a rough start when he was in coverage on a 53-yard pass to WR Chris Olave on the Saints first play from scrimmage, but defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr noted he put Dugger in a difficult spot on a corner blitz. Besides the first play, Dugger had a solid performance in New Orleans.
New England's cornerback trio of Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, and Marcus Jones has been rock-solid during its three-game winning streak. As a result, Woods, who is questionable with a knee injury, has only played six snaps on defense over the last two weeks. He has had been the Pats fourth corner when called upon and also played 47.5% of the special teams snaps. One would expect CB Alex Austin to be the next man up on defense, but Battle's elevation suggests that the first-year pro could fill Woods' special teams roles, if needed. Woods has contributed to four different special teams units throughout the season, so Battle could have a significant role in the kicking game.
Lastly, the Patriots elevated RB Terrell Jennings from the practice squad for the second consecutive game. Jennings didn't play an offensive snap vs. the Saints, with Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson handling all the backfield snaps. However, Jennings was a kickoff returner alongside WR Efton Chism III, a pairing that'll likely handle kickoff returns again this week, and he was on the Patriots punt return unit as well. With one more standard elevation remaining, the Patriots will eventually need to sign Jennings to the 53-man roster to continue activating him on game day. Ultimately, that's a decision for down the line, with Jennings now using two of his three total elevations by getting called up for Week 7.
The last step before kickoff is game-day inactives. With two players up from the practice squad, the Patriots must declare six players inactive. Typically, G Caedan Wallace, DT Eric Gregory, and QB Tommy DeVito (3rd QB) are inactive. With Chism having a role in kickoffs last week, it'll be interesting to see who the additional inactive players are on Sunday.
The Patriots visit the Titans at Nissan Stadium with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET in Tennessee on Sunday.
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