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In not even 90 minutes, the New England Patriots will play their third game of the 2019 regular season — and their second straight against a divisional rival: the New York Jets will come to town, and they do so as three-touchdown underdogs. Before getting ahead of ourselves, however, let’s take a look at the players on both sides who have been declared inactive and will therefore not participate in today’s contest:
Patriots inactives
FB James Develin
RB James White
TE Matt LaCosse
OT Caleb Benenoch
S Nate Ebner
OT Korey Cunningham
LB Shilique Calhoun
Of the seven players listed above, only one has been known heading into the weekend: fullback James Develin has been ruled out on Friday because of a neck injury. With the veteran absent, the Patriots opted to promote Jakob Johnson from the practice squad to the 53-man team; the German-born rookie who was added to the Patriots as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program will make his NFL debut today filling in for Develin.
Also inactive is running back James White — albeit for a different reason: White and his wife are expecting a baby soon, and the Patriots have given their top receiving/change-of-pace back the day off. With White unavailable, New England will likely turn to Rex Burkhead as their lead receiving back. Rookie Damien Harris, meanwhile, is also active and will also see his first in-game action since getting drafted in the third round earlier this year (the same goes for second-round cornerback Joejuan Williams).
Speaking of active players: Marcus Cannon returns after a one-week absence due to a shoulder injury suffered in Week 1. He will move into his usual spot as the Patriots’ starting right tackle again — with Marshall Newhouse protecting Tom Brady’s blindside in place of Isaiah Wynn (who himself has been placed on injured reserve earlier this week). With Cannon back, Korey Cunningham has been declared inactive.
Matt LaCosse and Nate Ebner, meanwhile, are also out after being listed as questionable on the injury report. LaCosse will be replaced by Ryan Izzo, who also was questionable but will play today.
Jets inactives
QB Sam Darnold
WR Demaryius Thomas
LB Jordan Jenkins
LB C.J. Mosley
LB Jordan Willis
DT Quinnen Williams
DL John Franklin-Myers
The Jets, meanwhile, will be without some of their core players: linebacker C.J. Mosley and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams will join quarterback Sam Darnold on the list of inactives. Also not playing today is ex-Patriots wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.