The Patriots are readying for a trip to Miami with a roster trending in the right direction from a health perspective for Sunday's game against the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
On Friday, New England ruled out NT Jaquelin Roy due to a neck injury. The Patriots also listed 10 players as questionable: DT Christian Barmore (not injury related - other), S Kyle Dugger (ankle), CB Christian Gonzalez (hip), LB Anfernee Jennings (knee), T Vederian Lowe (shoulder), S Marte Mapu (neck), OL Cole Strange (knee), LB Sione Takitaki (knee), LB Keion White (knee), and DE Deatrich Wise (foot).
Starting on defense, quite a few players are dealing with injuries in the Patriots front seven over the last few weeks. After missing last Sunday's game vs. the Rams due to a foot injury, captain Deatrich Wise returned to practice on Friday for the first time since sustaining the injury in Week 10. Wise still has a shot to play on Sunday, but Roy will miss his second straight game.
Furthermore, after making his season debut last week, DT Christian Barmore continues to be managed as he works his way back from blood clots. Barmore only participated in one practice session in the lead-up to Sunday's game on Thursday. Last week, the stud D-Tackle played 21 snaps in his return vs. the Rams, logging three tackles and zero quarterback pressures.
From this perspective, it seems likely that the Patriots will be without Roy and Wise again on Sunday. If that's the case, look for New England to have a similar rotation on the defensive front featuring hybrid DE Keion White, OLB Anfernee Jennings, NT Davon Godchaux, DT Jeremiah Pharms, DT Daniel Ekuale, newcomer Yannick Ngakoue, and Barmore. Although the Dolphins passing game gets most of the attention, Miami ran the ball well in Week 5 vs. the Patriots.
Without starting QB Tua Tagovailoa, the Dolphins ran for 193 rushing yards in the first matchup against New England, the most by a Patriots opponent this season. Now, Tua is back, while opposing defenses are playing a league-high rate of two-high safety shells vs. Miami to keep the lid on the defense against game-breaking receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. In Week 5, Miami ran the ball with a healthy mix of zone (18) and gap schemes (17), but the Dolphins major in outside zone schemes. Therefore, the key to stopping their early-down offense will be setting the edge and filling cutback lanes through the middle of the field.
With the Pats committing resources to stop the pass, they'll likely play out of lighter boxes, leaving themselves vulnerable against the run. After getting his feet wet last week, Barmore will hopefully have a bigger impact this week, which will be huge with the Patriots a man short in the box. One would expect bigger five-man fronts with Barmore, Godchaux, Pharms, White, and Jennings to stop the run with six defenders. Miami's run game will be challenging in a week where the Patriots may be short-handed along the defensive line.
Next, star CB Christian Gonzalez was a late addition to this week's injury report due to a hip injury and is officially questionable. Gonzalez was a limited participant in Friday's practice after being a full participant in the first two sessions this week. Along with Marcus and Jonathan Jones, Gonzalez is a fixture in the Pats secondary, shadowing Dolphins star WR Tyreek Hill on 21 of 29 routes in Week 5. It would be a big blow to the defense if Gonzo is unavailable. Earlier this week, New England activated CB Alex Austin from injured reserve to bolster its cornerback depth. Austin could factor back into the secondary rotation on Sunday.
Back to the trenches theme on the other side of the ball, the expectation is that the Patriots will stick with the same starting five along the offensive line on Sunday. However, the wild card is the potential return of OL Cole Strange from the physically unable to perform list.
After suffering a significant knee injury late last season, Strange returned to practice for the first time this season on Wednesday. The third-year OL practiced all three days in a limited capacity. Still, based on head coach Jerod Mayo's comments and a brief look-in at practice, my guess is that New England's offensive line will stick with the same group on Sunday: LT Vederian Lowe, LG Michael Jordan, C Ben Brown, RG, Mike Onwenu, and RT Trey Jacobs.
On Friday, Coach Mayo said that Strange is participating in individual drills and conditioning at this point in his recovery, meaning that he hasn't advanced to full-team drills yet. Mayo added that Strange is in great shape, but his lack of participation in 11-on-11s signals he's still working his way back. The team has 21 days to activate Strange to the active roster. Since his return window opened officially on Wednesday, the Patriots have until Dec. 11 to make a decision.
"Cole has really just been out there doing the individual drills and conditioning. I will say he looks good. We ran some cross fields the other day and he was out front, so he's definitely in shape. Maybe it's the fresh legs, I don't know. It's exciting to have him out there," Coach Mayo said.
Earlier this week, Strange told reporters that his primary focus is learning the center position rather than playing his initial position at left guard. The former first-round pick has 27 career starts under his belt, all at left guard, but the Patriots new offensive coaching staff might have a different view of where he fits best on the O-Line.
Due to his body type and athleticism, Strange would be a good fit at center in OC Alex Van Pelt's outside zone-heavy scheme. Outside zone, where linemen step at a 90-degree angle and move horizontally across the field, typically lends itself to athletic linemen. Although he's not a people-mover on the interior, Strange registered the top relative athletic score (RAS) of any interior linemen in the 2022 draft, with a score of 9.95 out of 10. Strange has the athleticism needed for this scheme while playing center could mitigate some of his play-strength issues.
When Strange returns, there's a debate about where he's most needed. So far, starting LG Michael Jordan and C Ben Brown have had their ups and downs. It's also worth noting that centers make all the line calls in Van Pelt's system, so there's a mental burden on the position in this offense. From this vantage point, training Strange as a long-term fit at center makes sense, but it's more realistic for him to upgrade the left guard spot this season.
Regardless, Brown and Jordan will seemingly compete over the next few weeks to stay in the starting lineup. It'll also be interesting to see if this coaching staff prioritizes continuity over upside. Strange might be an upgrade over current starters who are backups forced into larger roles due to injuries. However, there's an argument to be made that continuity is the most important thing for the offensive line.
The current starting five has settled in recently, with rookie QB Drake Maye being under pressure on 36% of his drop-backs compared to 48% for veteran QB Jacoby Brissett. New England has also generated a 37.3% rushing success rate compared to a league-worst 26% success rate in the previous four weeks. We'll see how this coaching staff views the conversation about continuity vs. talent when Strange is available.
The next step for the Patriots is travel-day downgrades and roster moves on Saturday. New England could activate Strange to the 53-man roster, while it's worth monitoring whether or not Roy and Wise make the trip. The Pats could also elevate players from the practice squad, so we'll keep you updated on Patriots.com with any roster moves en route to Miami.
The Patriots will face the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
