Shaq Mason and Jonathan Jones exit Patriots’ game against Bengals with injury

The New England Patriots held a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter of their Week 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals when they lost two players to injury: right guard Shaq Mason and cornerback Jonathan Jones both exited the contest, and were later declared questionable to return. Mason left the game due to an ankle injury, as the team announced shortly after his departure, with Jackson’s groin forcing him out of the game.

The two injuries did not hurt the team during its 34-13 win, but they could have major implications moving forward: Mason already dealt with an ankle injury earlier this season and missed the Patriots’ Week 8 game against the Cleveland Browns because of it. Back then, he was replaced in the lineup by veteran lineman James Ferentz who also stepped into the right guard spot during Sunday’s game in Cincinnati.

On the defensive side of the ball, meanwhile, Jones again saw considerable action as the Patriots’ starting slot cornerback before his injury. While it remains to be seen how severe the issue actually is and whether or not it will limit his availability moving forward, it certainly is a blow to a secondary that was already without perimeter cornerback Jason McCourty — the veteran missed the game because of a groin injury as well.