Patriots vs. Bills inactives: Rookies Malik Cunningham, Kayshon Boutte out for Week 7

The New England Patriots had 20 players listed on their practice report at one point this week, but only four of their seven inactives against the Buffalo Bills are actually dealing with injury. Three of those four, however, would likely have played prominent roles.

Before getting ahead of ourselves, though, let’s find out who will miss the contest and what it means for the Patriots.

Patriots inactives

• OT Calvin Anderson
• WR Kayshon Boutte
• QB/WR Malik Cunningham
• QB Will Grier (emergency QB)
• WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
• ED Josh Uche
• ED Keion White

The Patriots entered the weekend with 19 players listed on their injury report. Of those, three had already been ruled out: edge defenders Josh Uche (knee, foot) and Keion White (concussion), as well as offensive lineman Riley Reiff (knee). The latter has since been sent to injured reserve.

Joining Uche and White on the inactives list are five offensive players, including two who were also listed on the injury report: wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster will miss a second straight game with a concussion, while fellow wideout Kayshon Boutte — a healthy scratch Weeks 2-6 — will be out with a hamstring issue.

This means that of the other 14 players listed as questionable on Friday, only one will not play: defensive end Trey Flowers remains on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from a foot injury.

The other three inactives, meanwhile, are healthy scratches. The most prominent among them might be rookie quarterback/wide receiver hybrid Malik Cunningham, who served as the nominal QB2 behind Mac Jones last week versus the Las Vegas Raiders. With him out and relegated to No. 4 status behind emergency option Will Grier, Bailey Zappe returns to the primary backup spot.

Bills inactives

• OL Alec Anderson
• S Damar Hamlin
• OL Germain Ifedi
• LB A.J. Klein
• TE Quintin Morris
• DT Ed Oliver

No surprises on the Buffalo list of inactives. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver is the big name here: the starter was already ruled out on Friday due to a toe issue.