Patriots Injury Report: Collins Still Out With Unspecified Illness
By Gregory Hunt
For several weeks, the New England Patriots have been dealing with a lack of depth along their offensive line, which has been decimated by injuries. But as the team prepares to face the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium on Monday night, that problem has been exceeded by the loss of wide receiver Julian Edelman, who will likely miss the rest of the regular season due to a broken bone in his foot. Edelman has been the team's most prolific receiver, catching 61 passes this season.
In a radio interview this week, quarterback Tom Brady suggested that Keshawn Martin might be a potential fill-in for Edelman, but Martin's not 100 percent either, as he's been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury for several weeks. Martin is participating in practice on a limited basis this week, but he hasn't seen any game action since starting against the Indianapolis Colts on October 18.
Every other offensive player listed on New England's injury report this week is a lineman, but all of them are participating in practice, albeit on a limited basis. Tackle Marcus Cannon is working through a toe injury that has forced him to miss the last four games. Guard Tre' Jackson is dealing with a knee injury that has kept him out of the last two games. Guard Shaq Mason also has a knee injury, but he started on Sunday in New England's 27-26 win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, so he will likely get another start against the Bills. Tackle Sebastian Voller has already missed one game due to a concussion, so his status versus the Bills remains to be seen.
On defense, neither linebacker Jamie Collins nor cornerback Justin Coleman has practiced this week, so it's unlikely that either one will be active on Monday night. Collins has been out of action for 13 days because of an undisclosed illness. Coleman is dealing with a hand injury, although he did play 24 snaps against the Giants while wearing a cast on his right hand. Coleman is the only defensive back listed on this week's injury report, so depth will not be an issue in New England's defensive secondary.
Starting linebacker Chandler Jones played 89 percent of the defensive snaps against the Giants last week, but now he's been added to the injury report because of an issue with his abdomen. Alan Branch is also a new addition to the list due to an ankle injury. Last week, he played 23 snaps on defense and 12 on special teams. Both of them will probably see action against the Bills, but it's possible that an ankle injury to Jabaal Sheard might keep him from getting activated. Sheard missed three games before seeing action against the Giants, but he played only a quarter of New England's defensive snaps in that game.
Limited participation in practice:
Alan Branch, defensive tackle (elbow)
Marcus Cannon, offensive tackle (toe)
Tre' Jackson, guard (knee)
Chandler Jones, defensive end (abdomen)
Keshawn Martin, wide receiver (hamstring)
Shaq Mason, guard (knee)
Jabaal Sheard, defensive end (ankle)
Sebastian Vollmer, offensive tackle (concussion)
Did not participate in practice:
Justin Coleman, cornerback (hand)
Jamie Collins, linebacker (illness)
Julian Edelman, wide receiver (foot)
Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
