Fighting to get back on track, the New England Patriots may be without starting tight end Ben Coates for Sunday night's game with the Dallas Cowboys.
Coates suffered an ankle injury in the Patriots loss to Buffalo last Sunday, and he has missed practice time this week.
"Ben is on the injury list as questionable, and he did not practice either on Wednesday or Thursday," Head Coach Pete Carroll said Friday morning. "We don't know if he's going to go or not. We'll know a lot more after today's practice."
Should Coates be unable to play, Carroll said the offense will move some players around. Tight end Rod Rutledge would start, and third-string tight end and long snapper Mike Bartrum could see some action. Fullbacks Tony Carter and Chris Floyd could also fill in at the tight end spot.
"Things that you would normally do with the second tight end, we would do with a running back," Carroll said. "We're prepared to not have him if that is the case."
