Preseason injury updates: Deatrich Wise, Elandon Roberts, and Jordan Richards

The New England Patriots didn’t play their starters against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but a few key depth players suffered notable injuries.

Fourth round EDGE Deatrich Wise Jr. is a possible key player for the New England defense, but the Patriots wanted the rookies to gain as much experience as possible. Wise is an option to start opposite of Trey Flowers since the Patriots don’t have a second proven starter on the roster.

Fellow Patriots rookie DT Adam Butler accidentally sent his knee into the back of Wise’s helmet at the start of the second quarter, forcing Wise to the locker room and out of the game with a head injury.

Wise’s injury is worth monitoring and hopefully he won’t miss much time and will be able to assume his role as a potential starter in New England.

Update: The Herald’s Jeff Howe reports that Wise might only miss a week due to a concussion.

Towards the end of the third quarter, the Patriots lost LB Elandon Roberts to an undisclosed injury. Roberts helped on a tackle, but took part in a few big collisions and limped away from the play.

Reporters said it could have been either a head injury or a lower leg injury, which is a pretty huge span of possibilities. Hopefully Roberts is healthy because he’s competing for a roster spot.

Just two plays later, SS Jordan Richards appeared to hurt his wrist, which is why Cyrus Jones finished the game at safety.

“We went into the game with three safeties and they weren’t all able to finish,” head coach Bill Belichick explained after the game, when asked about Jones’ role at safety.

Like Roberts, Richards is also competing for a roster spot and cannot afford to miss any time. Both Roberts and Richards played poorly against the Jaguars and if they don’t get an opportunity to redeem themselves, then they could be playing for a different team very soon.

Hopefully all three players are okay and will miss minimal time for the rest of the preseason.