The New England Patriots received some bad injury news earlier today: Defensive edge Derek Rivers suffered an ACL tear during Wednesday's joint practice session with the Houston Texans. Rivers, who will miss his entire rookie campaign due to the injury, was not the only player to sustain an injury during practice this week, though.
One of the others was backup offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle, who failed to finish Tuesday's session with the Texans. Now, according to ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss, we know the reason why:
Backup OT LaAdrian Waddle had sustained a concussion in joint practices with the Texans. That adds context to his availability going forward
The Boston Herald's Jeff Howe added some more information shorty after Reiss' initial tweet:
LaAdrian Waddle is in the concussion protocol, per source. It's not expected to be a long absence.
Waddle, who played 47 offensive snaps (63%) during last week's preseason opener, is currently in the race for what appears to be the final offensive tackle spot behind starters Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon and third round rookie Antonio Garcia. Him suffering a concussion, however, might hurt his chances; especially if the 26-year old is forced to miss more than just Saturday's game against the Houston Texans.
With Waddle out, fellow offensive tackles Cameron Fleming, Conor McDermott, Cole Croston and Max Rich should see added snaps against the Texans – and potentially an increased number of practice reps next week.