Pats Pulpit
Game statuses for Week 17 at Gillette Stadium.
The New England Patriots will host the Los Angeles Chargers down Marcus Jones.
The cornerback and punt returner has been ruled out after remaining a non-participant through six consecutive injury reports due to a hip issue. But center Ben Brown, who remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol, moves forward among 10 questionable despite not returning to practice on Thursday.
That uncertainty at the pivot spot puts eyes on reserve interior linemen Lecitus Smith and Cole Strange. The latter recently made his 2024 debut on special teams after sustaining a torn patellar tendon last December.
“Once they go into the protocol, it’s really out of our hands,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said during his final press conference of the week. “It’s in the league’s hands. Now, in saying that, we have to have guys ready. You think about Lecitus. You think about Cole. You think about those guys, and they got to be ready to go.”
Here’s the rest of the game statuses heading into Saturday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium.
The all-purpose Jones will now miss his second game in a row after sustaining a hip injury against the Arizona Cardinals midway through the month. He stands with 58 tackles, two fumble recoveries and one interception in the secondary this campaign. And back deep, where an average of 14.8 yards per has been logged, his absence makes veteran punt returner Alex Erickson a back-to-back elevation candidate from the practice squad.
Upon signing to the 53-man roster in Foxborough in October, Brown started all 10 games and stayed in for 100 percent of the offensive snaps at center. The rest of New England’s questionable finished the short week as limited participants. Count Wallace and Jacobs among them. Both rookies continue to reside on injured reserve after having their 21-day practice windows open.
Elsewhere, Dugger returned after being projected as a non-participant on Christmas Day with ankle and quad ailments. The safety and captain carries a game designation along with Thursday additions to the injury report in linebackers Jennings, Leo and Takitaki.
As for the Chargers, Dobbins saw his activation window open this week after going on injured reserve at the end of November. The starting running back, standing with eight touchdowns and 900 scrimmage yards on the...
