Foxboro, MA – The Patriots are gearing up for a throwback matchup with the Colts at Gillette Stadium, with eight of their nine questionable players officially active on Sunday.

The Patriots inactives are NT Jaquelin Roy (neck), S Marte Mapu, WR K.J. Osborn, G Lester Cotton, G Tyrese Robinson, DE Titus Leo, and rookie Joe Milton is the emergency third quarterback. The Colts inactives are WR Josh Downs (shoulder), WR Ashton Dulin (ankle), FS Darren Hall, DE Isaiah Land, C Tanor Bortolini, T Braden Smith, and Sam Ehlinger is the emergency third quarterback.

Starting on offense, WR DeMario Douglas (ankle) and starting left tackle Vederian Lowe (shoulder) are officially active after practicing in a limited capacity this week. Douglas, who leads all Patriot wide receivers in catches (48) and scrimmage yards (602), is finding his groove with rookie QB Drake Maye, tallying over 50 receiving yards in three consecutive games. Douglas's usage on gadget plays, slants, and crossing routes has made him a viable slot receiver, an important role in offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt's offense.

Along the offensive line, Lowe is expected to start at left tackle while continuing to play through a shoulder injury. Last week, the third-year tackle struggled with penalties in the loss to the Dolphins, where he was called for three false starts and a hold. Although you cannot ignore the penalties, Lowe was mostly solid other than the flags, allowing just two quarterback pressures. From a procedural standpoint, Lowe must be better as he seeks a clean performance on Sunday. Still, Lowe remains the team's best option at left tackle from a blocking perspective.

As for who else will start on the offensive line, rookie fourth-rounder Layden Robinson is expected to start next to Lowe at left guard. Earlier this week, the team released G Michael Jordan from the 53-man roster and re-signed Jordan to the practice squad. The fifth-year vet has started 11 of 12 games at left guard for New England this season but has been inconsistent with picking up defensive line stunts and generating movement in the run game.

On Friday, head coach Jerod Mayo spoke about how the Patriots want to see what they have in their recent draft picks before the season ends. As much as the Pats HC wants to win every game, New England also recognizes it's in roster evaluation mode at 3-9.

"Look, you want to win right now, but at the same time, I think it would be a disservice to go to the end of the season and not know exactly what we have," Coach Mayo said. "You need a guy like Layden Robinson to show what he can do."

Robinson, whom the coaching staff is hopeful can develop into a starting guard, will likely get another chance to start. The rookie's last start didn't go well when he was benched in the second quarter vs. the Titans. As insurance, the Patriots elevated Jordan from the practice squad, so the veteran is available if Robinson struggles. For Jordan, that's his final standard elevation of the season, meaning he'll need to be re-added to the 53-man roster to play after this week.

With the game-day roster now set, here is QB Drake Maye's projected supporting cast vs. the Colts on Sunday.

OL - Lowe, Robinson, Brown, Onwenu, Jacobs
WR - Boutte, Douglas, Bourne, Polk, Baker
TE - Henry, Hooper, Bell
RB - Stevenson, Gibson, Hasty

Moving over to the defense, safety Jabrill Peppers is active for the first time since Week 4. Peppers was removed from the commissioner's exempt list on Monday, allowing him to return to practice and be back with the club. Although he was listed as questionable due to a knee injury, Peppers is officially active on Sunday. With Peppers returning, second-year LB/S Marte Mapu is inactive for New England. Mapu has been limited in practice with a neck injury but was removed from the final injury report this week, signaling that he's a healthy scratch.

The Patriots defense will also get a boost with captain Deatrich Wise returning to the lineup after a two-game absence. The eight-year vet is tied for the team lead with five sacks and ranks third on the Patriots with 14 pressures. He'll join a defensive line rotation that features hybrid DE Keion White, DT Christian Barmore, NT Davon Godchaux, DT Daniel Ekuale, DT Jeremiah Pharms, and pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue. Barmore has been ramping up his participation since returning from blood clots and is off the injury report for the first time since July.

Lastly, New England had four more core contributors with questionable designations heading into Sunday's game: OLB Anfernee Jennings (knee), LB Sione Takitaki (knee), and LB Christian Elliss (knee), and S Kyle Dugger (ankle). On Sunday, all four Pats defenders are active to defend Colts dual-threat QB Anthony Richardson and Pro Bowl running back Jonathan Taylor. The Patriots defense will face an offense that incorporates designed quarterback runs for the first time this season, so it'll be interesting to see how Coach Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington game plan against Richardson and company.

Patriots hybrid safeties Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers could have big roles. It's always important to be physical in the middle of the defense, but Indianapolis's read-option package also stresses the edges, where having more athletic defenders who can still tackle bigger ball carriers like Richardson would be helpful. We might also see special teams ace Brenden Schooler have a larger role in the "Longhorn" package. Schooler could exceed his season-high five defensive snaps in a Week 10 win over the Bears. If the Pats can get the Colts into obvious passing situations, Schooler could spy Richardson to limit the Colts QB on scrambles.

With five games remaining in the regular season, the goal for the Patriots is to start building some momentum while evaluating the younger players on their roster. Although the playoffs look unlikely, the team still has an opportunity to make progress.

The Patriots and Colts kick off at 1 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