The New England Patriots are only three days away from their game against the New Orleans Saints. Today, the team released its second injury report of the week and it gives further indication about the overall health of the roster and who may or may not make the trip to Louisiana.
Let’s take a look at it (via patriots.com):
Did not participate
WR Danny Amendola (concussion/knee)
LB Dont’a Hightower (knee)
WR Matthew Slater (hamstring)
New England had four players out yesterday and the number decreased to three today. However, all three are core members of the team and it appears increasingly likely that the Patriots will have to face the Saints without them. While Matthew Slater certainly is a tough player to replace due to his leadership and experience, New England looked good on special teams despite the veteran being out in week one.
Replacing Danny Amendola and Dont'a Hightower, on the other hand, is not that easy: Both have played important roles against the Kansas City Chiefs – roles that now potentially have to be redistributed.
Limited participation
DT Adam Butler (knee)
OT Marcus Cannon (ankle)
SS Nate Ebner (shoulder)
OT Cameron Fleming (ankle)
FS Devin McCourty (groin)
DT Vincent Valentine (knee)
The lone change to the injury report came on the limited participation list. Defensive tackle Vincent Valentine, who has been dealing with a knee injury since the start of the regular season, was present for his first practice of the last two weeks. It would still not be a surprise to see the second-year man ultimately be declared inactive but his presence on the practice fields certainly is encouraging.
The rest of New England's injury report remained unchanged.
While the Patriots have had one change, the Saints' practice report looks just like it has yesterday:
Did not participate
OT Terron Armstead (shoulder)
OT Zach Strief (knee)
Limited participation
LB Stephone Anthony (ankle)
DE Trey Hendrickson (illness)
LB Nate Stupar (hamstring)