Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots began preparations for the Buffalo Bills down two defensive starters.
Outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson and safety Jaylinn Hawkins did not take the field for Wednesday’s practice in Foxborough. But inside linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who spent September on injured reserve, did as his 21-day return window opened.
Here’s the first injury report heading into Sunday’s 8:20 p.m. ET AFC East kickoff at Highmark Stadium.
Off New England’s edges, Chaisson stands with 2.5 sacks through the initial month of the regular season. The March arrival had recently been listed as questionable due to a knee injury after going from a non-participant to a limited participant to a full participant. And in the secondary, Hawkins played just 39 defensive snaps due to a hamstring injury during last weekend’s 42-13 win at Gillette Stadium. The veteran safety handled 173 downs over his previous three starts while logging one sack and one interception.
After holding the same starting combination, the Patriots had to turn elsewhere on the offensive line last Sunday. Ankle and knee injuries resulted in Wilson being ruled out ahead of the matinee. The rookie left guard has since worked his way up to partial availability. Yet in his absence versus the Carolina Panthers, 2024 starting center Ben Brown was called upon for all 49 offensive snaps.
Wednesday saw four Patriots practice in full while working through ailments. Starting offensive linemen were among them. And after being placed on injured reserve due to a calf injury at the 53-man roster deadline in August, so was the aforementioned Tavai.
