Sportsnaut
Week 1 is in the books, and Week 2 has begun across the NFL. The New England Patriots are one of several teams who are glad Week 1 is over and hope to move on from it as quickly as possible.
The Patriots suffered a surprising home defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 1. The Patriots were favored in the game, and it was one that most Patriots’ fans had circled as a win before the season began. However, the defense, especially the pass defense, was not good, and the offense couldn’t get into a consistent rhythm.
Star cornerback Christian Gonzalez didn’t play in Week 1, and that undoubtedly didn’t help things. Gonzalez injured his hamstring in practice almost seven weeks ago and has still not returned to practice. At the time, the thinking was that Gonzalez would be ready for Week 1, but whether it be due to a setback or the injury being worse than initially though, Gonzalez is still not healthy.
It came out that the star corner did not participate in practice on Wednesday or Thursday, and on Friday, the team officially ruled Gonzalez out for the Week 2 tilt with the Miami Dolphins.
This is not good news for the Patriots, as the Dolphins have two elite wide receivers in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle who can definitely test the Patriots’ secondary. Without Gonzalez, Alex Austin will likely get the start opposite Carlton Davis II.
Elsewhere on the injury report, edge-rusher Keion White is the only other Patriot to be ruled out. White has been dealing with an unspecified illness and was unable to practice this week. Without White, veteran edge-rusher Anfernee Jennings is expected to play after being a healthy scratch in the opener.
Elsewhere, starting right tackle Morgan Moses and linebacker Marte Mapu are both listed as questionable with foot and neck injuries respectively. The Patriots have not won in Miami since the pre-COVID days, so all hands will need to be on deck to avoid an 0-2 start.
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