Key Patriots Defensive Starter Dealing With ‘Sneaky’ Injury Ahead Of Week 5

The New England Patriots picked up a nice bounce-back win in Week 4 against the Carolina Panthers, with the final score coming in at 42-13. And while pretty much everything went right for the Pats in this one, they have reportedly been dealt a sneaky injury that could cause some problems for them in Week 5.

Midway through their clash against the Panthers, starting safety Jaylinn Hawkins was forced out of the game with a hamstring injury, and he did not end up returning. That forced Kyle Dugger into more action after he lost his starting job to the combination of Hawkins and Craig Woodson during training camp.

With a big matchup against the Buffalo Bills looming, Hawkins’ status bears watching over the next couple of days. In fact, Mike Reiss of ESPN believes that this is a “sneaky” big injury that could seriously hurt New England’s defense.

“From the sort-of-a-sneaky-big-storyline-that-maybe-isn’t-being-talked-about-enough department: Starting safety Jaylinn Hawkins injured his hamstring late in the first half and didn’t play in the second half,” Reiss wrote in a post on X. “The Patriots have invested a lot of time at safety in terms of their communication and how the pieces fit.”

“Now Dugger could be back in the top spot next to rookie Craig Woodson (fourth round, Cal) this week. That’s a significant development — at a position that didn’t have top depth to begin with — when preparing to face Josh Allen and Co.”

Hawkins has been a crucial contributor for the Patriots, as he already has 20 tackles, one interception, one pass deflection, and one sack through what essentially has been three-and-a-half games of action. If he misses time, Dugger and Dell Pettus would be tasked with taking on bigger roles in the secondary.

The good news is that Hawkins has some time to get himself ready for this game, but the fact that he didn’t return to action against the Panthers is concerning. New England will be playing Buffalo on Sunday Night Football in Week 5, with kickoff scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET.