The bye week can’t get here soon enough for the Patriots.
New England will once again have to play without center David Andrews (concussion) and defensive tackle Christian Barmore (knee), while DeVante Parker (knee) and Marcus Cannon (concussion) have also been ruled out against the Colts on Sunday.
Andrews has now missed two straight games after taking a huge hit on an illegal blindside block against the Chicago Bears, and his absence has hurt the interior of the offensive line. Barmore will miss his third straight game, which continues to hurt the defense up front.
Parker tweaked his knee on the first snap of last Sunday’s win against the Jets, but he’s expected to return shortly. The 32-year-old Cannon, on the other hand, is headed to injured reserve following two ugly starts in place of Isaiah Wynn, who now ostensibly gets the right tackle job back.
Damien Harris (illness) is also not expected to play, leading J.J. Taylor to get his first action of the year as Rhamondre Stevenson’s backup at running back.
Here are the inactives for both teams:
For the Colts, star running back Jonathan Taylor has already been ruled with an ankle injury as has Zach Moss. Undrafted free agent Deon Jackson will get another start in his place and could see the lion’s share of the snaps with Taylor out and Nyheim Hines traded to the Bills.
