Cincinnati, Ohio — The Patriots are gearing up for their regular-season opener against the Bengals, which means it's time for the first inactives report of the 2024 season.
New England is mostly healthy heading into Sunday's game in Cincinnati. Besides already-ruled out G Sidy Sow (ankle), the rest of the players on the Patriots final injury report are officially active in Week 1: S Jabrill Peppers (hip), OT Vederian Lowe (abdomen), LB Joshua Uche (foot), and RB Antonio Gibson (hip) are good to go.
The Patriots game-day inactives are G Sidy Sow (ankle), WR Javon Baker, LB Curtis Jacobs, T Zachary Thomas, T Demontrey Jacobs, DT Eric Johnson, and QB Joe Milton is the emergency third quarterback.
After being added to the injury report on Saturday, starting safety Jabrill Peppers (hip) is active. Peppers went through a pre-game workout with trainers to test his hip, signaling that he was a true game-time decision on Sunday. Peppers is officially active, but it'll be worth monitoring his usage. If the Patriots starting safety can't play his usual workload, New England will lean on veteran Jaylinn Hawkins and undrafted rookie Dell Pettus alongside standout safety Kyle Dugger in the backend.
At wide receiver, it's not surprising that fourth-round rookie Javon Baker is a healthy scratch this week. Although some will relate it to Baker's recent social media post, this was somewhat expected even before that situation. After starting out hot in training camp, Baker cooled off by summer's end when inconsistencies began showing up in his game. Baker's biggest issues were with finishing contested targets and dealing with the rigors of physical coverage.
Although it might be disappointing that the talented rookie is a healthy inactive, it makes sense. Baker's future is still bright, but he needs continued development. Without the rookie, the Patriots active wide receivers are DeMario Douglas, K.J. Osborn, Ja'Lynn Polk, Tyquan Thornton, and Kayshon Boutte. Douglas, Osborn, Polk, and Thornton will likely play most of the snaps. Thornton (X) and Polk (Z) have taken over as starters. Douglas will also be heavily involved in three-receiver packages and passing situations, while Osborn might rotate in with Polk.
Moving to the offensive line, it'll be interesting to see if Lowe, who was limited in practice this week, factors in at left tackle. Chuks Okorafor is the projected starting left tackle for the Patriots, but Lowe has fared better on the left side than Okorafor, a career right tackle. Could the Pats rotate at left tackle? Would they move multiple pieces by flipping Okorafor back to right tackle? Based on recent practices, the projected starting line for the Patriots is LT Chuks Okorafor, LG Michael Jordan, C David Andrews, RG Layden Robinson, and RT Mike Onwenu. However, Lowe and backup G/C Nick Leverett could factor in somewhere on Sunday.
It's also worth noting offensively that RB Antonio Gibson (hip) is officially a go. Gibson popped up on the injury report this week, putting his status in doubt, but he's officially active, forming a one-two punch with lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson. Gibson and Stevenson will likely platoon in the backfield, with Rhamondre being used on early downs and Gibson being a factor as a spread/receiving back.
Along with Peppers's status, the other question mark for the Patriots defense was pass-rusher Joshua Uche (foot). Uche is officially active. The edge rusher's practice availability has been inconsistent since camp began as he tries to return to his 2022 form. At the same time, camp standout Oshane Ximines has pushed Uche for playing time. Both Uche and Ximines could be in the Patriots pressure package, but we'll see how those two split the snaps in a designated pass-rusher role.
The Patriots defense is catching a break as Bengals star WR Tee Higgins (hamstring) is officially inactive. Higgins was added to the injury report mid-week, then didn't practice on Friday. Now, he's officially out for Sunday's game. Although they won't face Higgins, Cincy's other star wideout, Ja'Marr Chase, is active after some uncertainty about his contract status and health. Chase will play without a new deal on Sunday following a lengthy "hold in" over his contract. However, the expectation is that he'll play a limited number of snaps.
New England enters the first regular-season game under head coach Jerod Mayo as a 7.5-point underdog in Cincinnati. Although they're heavy road underdogs, the door is open for an upset with the Bengals two-headed monster at wide receiver in flux for star quarterback Joe Burrow.
The Patriots begin the 2024 season against the Bengals with kickoff at 1 pm ET on Sunday.
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