The news on the Dan Koppen front is bad, but possibly not as bad as expected. According to Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald, Koppen broke his ankle in tonight's Dolphins game, but it may not keep him out for the remainder of the year:
Patriots C Dan Koppen suffered a broken ankle during the Patriots-Dolphins game, I'm told.
The team will run more tests tomorrow to see whether there is more damage to the ligaments or the surrounding portions of his leg. But, the early returns are that it may not be a complicated break.
In fact, don't rule Koppen out for the season just yet.
Pretty much, this looks like one of those wait and see types of situations. If Koppen is able to return this year, that is certainly great news for the Patriots. When he first went down, I'm pretty sure that most Patriots fans expected that he would be lost for the season.
On the other hand, it looks like this injury will keep Koppen out for quite some time. That being said, until Ryan Wendell is healthy, the Patriots have zero back-ups along the interior line. I'm confident in Dan Connolly's ability to step in as the starting center. However, I would like to see the team add another body as an interior back-up.