The inactives for tonight's Divisional Round game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts have been announced. For the Patriots, wide receiver Aaron Dobson, nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga, and linebacker Steve Beauharnais are inactive.
Deion Branch, a former Patriots' Super Bowl MVP who was recently signed by the Colts, will not play.
Here is the full list of inactives for both teams:
New England Patriots | Indianapolis Colts |
OL Chris Barker | WR Josh Lenz |
WR Aaron Dobson | CB Sheldon Price |
TE DJ Williams | LB Daniel Adongo |
DE Jake Bequette | OL Khaled Holmes |
NT Isaac Sopoaga | OG Joe Reitz |
CB Justin Green | WR Darrius Heyward-Bey |
LB Steve Beauharnais | WR Deion Branch |
I'm a little surprised to see Beauharnais inactive for the Patriots, since I thought they could use his depth after Brandon Spikes was placed on injured reserve. Then again, New England should spend well over half of their time in sub-packages, so only two linebackers will be on the field.
Deion Branch being placed on the inactives list doesn't surprise me at all. He was signed just this week, and I think he was more of a body than anything else. Perhaps the Colts found value with him on the practice field, just like the Patriots did with Reggie Dunn, a speedy wide receiver used to mimic T.Y. Hilton.