Today, the New England Patriots held their final practice of the week. Once again, the team had perfect participation and seems to be in solid shape heading into their AFC Championship matchup with the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.
Per the team’s injury report, seven players did not practice fully today – and all seven are officially questionable to play on Sunday:
Questionable / Limited participation
WR Danny Amendola (ankle)
TE Martellus Bennett (knee)
RB Brandon Bolden (knee)
LB Dont’a Hightower (shoulder)
WR Chris Hogan (thigh)
WR Malcolm Mitchell (knee)
DE Jabaal Sheard (knee)
For the third straight day the seven players listed above were limited in practice. With the Patriots showing patience when it comes to handling injured or recovering players all year long, this does not come as a surprise. Consequently, all seven should be ready to play on Sunday even if the team might opt to limit their snap numbers if necessary.
All in all, as opposed to last year, New England is in relatively good shape entering the conference title game.
The Steelers, as a look at their final injury report of the week shows, seem to be as well – despite the flu making the rounds in their locker room.
Questionable / Limited participation
TE Ladarius Green (concussion/illness)
Questionable / Full participation
LB James Harrison (shoulder/triceps)
RB Fitzgerald Touissant (concussion)