Following their AFC Championship Game victory on Sunday, the New England Patriots players were given three days off. Tomorrow, they will return to practice to start on-field preparation for their upcoming Super Bowl matchup with the Atlanta Falcons.
Despite the team not practicing today, it still had to release an injury report per NFL rules – even if only a hypothetical one based on recent injuries. Via patriots.com, it looks as follows:
Did not participate
SS Nate Ebner (concussion)
Ebner, who is a core special teamer for the Patriots and appears on all four units, leads the team with 19 tackles in the kicking game. However, he suffered a concussion during the AFC title game and would have been held out of a potential practice today. The team has to play it safe with him which puts his availability for actual sessions this week in question.
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)
The list of players named limited participants looks exactly the same as last Friday’s final injury report. All seven were active against Pittsburgh and played key roles in helping the team win the AFC, so seeing them on today’s list bears little meaning.
While the Patriots did not practice today, the Atlanta Falcons did. Their practice report looks like this:
Did not participate
DE Dwight Freeney (not injury related)
WR Julio Jones (toe)
OC Alex Mack (fibula)
While Freeney’s absence was non-injury related, Jones and Mack being out due to injury certainly is noteworthy. Both are key members of Atlanta’s offense and while they are expected to play in the Super Bowl missing preparation time is never ideal.