Report: Shane Vereen to IR/Designated to Return List

Apparently, Shane Vereen's wrist injury is a little more serious than we all thought.

After learning that Vereen played most of Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills with a broken wrist, the general consensus was that we had ourselves one badass little running back in our backfield. The reports were that he had fractured a small bone in his arm, would need surgery, and was expected to miss "a few weeks." Estimates had Vereen out anywhere from two weeks to a full month, but overall everyone thought he would be back sooner rather than later.

Guess not.

According to reports, the Patriots have placed Vereen on short-term IR. And while this designation doesn't mean he's out for the year, it does mean that he's guaranteed to miss at least the next eight weeks of the season. That means the earliest he could be back on the roster is after the team's Week 10 Bye, meaning his first game back would be when the Patriots visit the Panthers on Monday, November 18th.

To fill Vereen's roster spot, the Patriots have brought back tight end Matthew Mulligan.

Hang on to the damn ball, Ridley. We need you.