The Patriots are en route to the desert, where they'll face the Arizona Cardinals, with New England ruling three players out and listing five as questionable on their final injury report for Sunday's Week 15 matchup.
On Friday, the Patriots ruled out WR Javon Baker (concussion), DT Jaquelin Roy (foot), and rookie OT Caedan Wallace (ankle) for Sunday's game vs. the Cardinals. The Pats also listed DT Christian Barmore (not injury related - other), S Kyle Dugger (ankle), CB Christian Gonzalez (shoulder), T Vederian Lowe (shoulder), and OL Cole Strange (knee) as questionable.
Starting at wide receiver, rookie fourth-round pick Javon Baker was a surprising addition to the injury report when he first appeared as a non-participant in Wednesday's practice due to a concussion. With the Patriots coming off a bye week, it's unclear when Baker sustained his concussion. Baker was present for Monday's non-padded practice but was absent the rest of the week. During his Friday morning press conference, head coach Jerod Mayo didn't want to get into specifics about when Baker suffered a concussion that will keep him out in Week 15.
"I don't want to get into specifics on when [Baker] got the concussion, but he's in the protocol," Coach Mayo told reporters. "One of our most dependable rooms has been the tight end room, and we have tight ends that can split out. We have tight ends that can line up, end-line tight ends, so definitely a possibility. Whether it's 11 or 12 personnel, it won't change so much."
The Patriots are down to four healthy receivers on the active roster after releasing veteran K.J. Osborn earlier this week: Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, and second-rounder Ja'Lynn Polk. Before the bye week, those four wideouts played most of the snaps in the loss to the Colts, with Baker only playing two offensive snaps, while Osborn was a healthy scratch before his release. Although the Pats depth at receiver is a question mark, Baker's injury won't change game-day roles much.
The Patriots will have their top pass-catchers available, but it's disappointing that Baker is out this week. One theme in recent weeks from Coach Mayo and the Pats coordinators is getting younger players more opportunities to evaluate their recent draft classes as we head into the offseason. For example, Coach Mayo mentioned offensive linemen Layden Robinson, Cole Strange, Caedan Wallace, and the young wide receivers as players and positions the team hopes to evaluate.
Baker, a fourth-round draft choice out of Central Florida, has yet to register a catch in 32 snaps on offense, while Polk, a fellow rookie, only has 12 catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns in his first NFL season. The hope was that the two rookie wideouts would use the last month of the season to build some confidence. That's still possible for Polk, but Baker's concussion will prevent him from playing this week.
Without Baker, the last unknown at wide receiver is whether the Patriots will roll with just four wideouts on Sunday. Typically, New England has had at least five or even six active wide receivers active on game day this season. The Pats do have two options to elevate from the practice squad, John Jiles and Braylon Sanders, but Sanders wasn't present for Friday's practice session, while Coach Mayo also indicated the team could lean on its reliable depth at the tight end position to fill out the offense.
With captain Hunter Henry and vet Austin Hooper heavily in the mix each week, it's also worth noting that rookie Jaheim Bell is a versatile pass-catcher. Bell has only played 37 offensive snaps in his first season, but he has lined up in several different spots, including 14 snaps in the slot or out wide. Along with playing their top four receivers, the Patriots might lean on multiple tight end sets, with Bell seeing more game-action.
Next, there are some potential moving parts for the Patriots offensive line. As Coach Mayo said, the team wants to see what the offensive line looks like with Robinson, Strange, and Wallace in there before season's end. Robinson was given the start at left guard vs. Indianapolis before the bye, while Strange was activated from the PUP list this week after practicing during his 21-day ramp-up period since Nov. 20. As for Wallace (ankle), the team has until Dec. 30 to activate the rookie from injured reserve.
Although it's a great idea to get Strange back in the mix in theory, it's also complicated. The Pats best offensive lineman, Mike Onwenu, is back at his natural position. Onwenu has played both right guard and right tackle this season but seems more comfortable playing guard. Then, Robinson is getting his opportunity at left guard, Strange's spot in his first two seasons, so Strange has been primarily practicing at center. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and O-Line coach Scott Peters said they viewed Strange as a center coming out of UT Chattanooga, which makes sense given his athletic build that would fit an outside zone-heavy system well.
However, things are going smoothly with rookie QB Drake Maye and current starting center Ben Brown in terms of communication and QB-center exchanges on snaps. As a former first-rounder, Strange could be an upgrade over Brown, but messing with the continuity between a young quarterback and his center could be a house of cards. Plus, the center is responsible for making all the line calls, which Strange told Patriots.com has been the most challenging part about adjusting to a new position.
There's a more likely path for Strange, the 29th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, to be a long-term starter than Brown. But the Pats HC said Maye's input on who he is more comfortable working with will factor into who starts at center. Seeing that Brown started the last eight games, it stands to reason that Maye would have a different comfort level with Brown than Strange, but we'll see if that's enough for Brown to keep the gig.
From this perspective, our best guess is that the Patriots starting offensive line in Arizona will be LT Vederian Lowe, LG Layden Robinson, C Ben Brown, RG Mike Onwenu, and RT Trey Jacobs. However, we cannot rule out Strange factoring into the O-Line mix somewhere.
Moving over to the defense, the prediction here is that the Patriots will have their core contributors mostly available vs. the Cardinals on Sunday.
That said, it's worth noting that an illness has been going around the Patriots locker room. Several defensive players were seen in the locker room wearing masks earlier this week, while CB Marcus Jones and S Jaylinn Hawkins missed one practice each due to illnesses. Jones participated in the final two practices, while Hawkins practiced on Wednesday and Friday. Although it doesn't seem like any players are in jeopardy of missing the game due to illness, the defense's energy level will be something on this scribe's radar early in Sunday's game.
Another storyline we'll be monitoring on defense is one that Coach Mayo spoke about earlier this week, which is all 11 players playing on a string. At times, the communication defensively hasn't always been up to the Patriots usual standard, with too many coverage breakdowns leading to easy conversions, particularly in the red zone over the last few games. New England must be more connected defensively. If the Pats can get that out of their top defenders, the defense can return to playing to the level we're accustomed to seeing from this group.
"It always starts with me as a coach, no matter what side of the ball we're talking about. I think just as a whole, we just need to go out there and play together. We need to do a better job communicating and flying around. Again, we're paid to tackle the guy with the football, and that's going to be our number one priority this week." Coach Mayo said on Wednesday.
New England is traveling to Arizona on Friday evening to acclimate to the desert before Sunday's matchup with the Cardinals. Arizona, who has an eight percent chance to make the postseason, per ESPN, is a six-point home favorite. However, this is a winnable game for the Patriots, who are hoping to build some momentum heading into the offseason.
The Patriots will visit the Cardinals at State Farm Stadium with kickoff at 4:25 pm ET 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
