Week 8 Patriots vs Bills: New England downgrades 3 more players to “out”, including running back Sony Michel

Tonight, the New England Patriots will play their second division game of the year: the team will head to Buffalo to take on the 2-5 Bills. Not all 53 man on the active roster will be available, though, as the Patriots already declared three players “out” as part of Saturday’s final injury report of the week: tight end Jacob Hollister (hamstring), cornerback Eric Rowe (groin), and offensive lineman Brian Schwenke (foot) will not play today.

Yesterday, New England added three more players to the list of inactives:

OT Marcus Cannon (concussion)

DE Geneo Grissom (ankle)

RB Sony Michel (knee)

Seeing the trio miss tonight’s game does not come as a surprise: while Marcus Cannon and Geneo Grissom were limited in practice all week long, Sony Michel only returned to the field on Saturday after suffering a knee injury during last week’s game against the Chicago Bears. The first-round rookie will miss his second game of the season; Cannon and Grissom will be out for the third and fifth time, respectively.

Cannon, New England’s starting right tackle, will again be replaced in the lineup by veteran tackle LaAdrian Waddle, while Grissom’s role on special teams will be filled by a mix of players including Nicholas Grigsby. The running back position, meanwhile, appears rather thin heading into the game: James White and Kenjon Barner are the only two options available at the position at the moment.