The New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills have announced their inactives for week 8.
Patriots
DT Woodrow Hamilton
RB Tyler Gaffney
LB Kyle Van Noy
RB D.J. Foster
OT LaAdrian Waddle
CB Cyrus Jones
WR Malcolm Mitchell
There are a lot of surprises here. The Patriots promoted Gaffney...only to make him inactive? It would appear the Patriots are comfortable with just three active running backs. The same applies to Mitchell, who is a scratch for the first time all year. Perhaps WR Danny Amendola will see a larger role on the offense this week.
TE Martellus Bennett will be active to provide a nice boost next to TE Rob Gronkowski.
Jones is a healthy scratch for the third straight week after getting ejected against the Browns, which is an ugly start to his career.
DT Vincent Valentine is active for the Patriots this week after missing the past two with a back injury. He’ll be needed against the Bills rushing attack.
Bills
S Aaron Williams
WR Marquise Goodwin
RB LeSean McCoy
DT Jerel Worthy
QB Cardale Jones
T Seantrel Henderson
C Patrick Lewis
There are no surprises here, but there is a serious impact with the loss of McCoy. McCoy is the only player on the Bills with 300+ yards from scrimmage on the season (695). For comparison, the Patriots have six players (LeGarrette Blount, James White, Rob Gronkowski, Martellus Bennett, Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan) with 300+ yards from scrimmage.
Bills WR Robert Woods (foot) is going to play and will be Buffalo’s top option in the receiving game, along with TE Charles Clay (knee), both of whom were limited in practice all week due to their injuries.
RB Mike Gillislee, who was listed on the injury report with a foot injury, will be the top running back.