Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots will host the Buffalo Bills down one.
Running back Terrell Jennings has been ruled out for the AFC East rematch due to a concussion, as head coach Mike Vrabel confirmed during his final press conference of the week. And on the other side of the ball in Foxborough, defensive captain Robert Spillane moves forward as the team’s lone questionable.
Here’s the rest of the game statuses leading up to Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium.
Jennings remained a non-participant through three consecutive injury reports before officially being ruled out. The 2024 undrafted arrival out of Florida A&M entered the NFL’s concussion protocol against the New York Giants as the calendar turned to December. The running back depth chart will now be subject to movement behind starter Rhamondre Stevenson and reigning AFC Offensive Rookie of the Month TreVeyon Henderson. Veteran D’Ernest Johnson, a three-time standard elevation from the practice squad, is on track to join the 53-man roster. That will require a corresponding move by 4 p.m. ET on Saturday.
“Yeah, D’Ernest will probably get to the game and help us,” New England’s head coach said. “We’ll have to figure some things out now, this afternoon or tomorrow, with the roster.”
The Patriots added Spillane to the injury report as a limited participant on Thursday due to a foot injury. A questionable tag followed on Friday. The off-ball linebacker had seen his workload scale back to a season-low 38 defensive downs during his latest start. He ranks atop the unit with 97 tackles while also having a hand in one sack, one forced fumble, five passes defensed and two interceptions returned for 70 yards. Only cornerback Carlton Davis III and safety Craig Woodson have logged a higher rate of snaps for New England’s defense than his 95.36 percent.
But guard Jared Wilson, nose tackle Khyiris Tonga and special teams captain Brenden Schooler are set to go without game designations after landing among the inactives prior to the bye week. The same prognosis holds for swing tackle Vederian Lowe, defensive tackle Christian Barmore as well as outside linebacker and sack leader Harold Landry III.
