Report: LB Brandon Copeland Suffered Torn Pectoral Muscle, Out For Remainder of Season
The injury bug continues to hit the New England Patriots, this time on the defensive side of the football.
Linebacker Brandon Copeland has suffered a torn pectoral muscle and will miss the remainder of the season, according to Pro Football Talk.
Copeland didn't play a lot through five games this season, playing just 16 percent of New England's total defensive snaps. But his absence is yet another blow to an already decimated linebacker corps compared to last year.
However, Copeland being sidelined may bring about an opportunity for one rookie that has yet to make his NFL debut - Josh Uche.
After being a healthy scratch in Week 1, New England placed Uche on injured reserve on Sept. 26 and has yet to play in a game yet this season. He began practicing last week, which signaled that he could return soon. Since he wasn't activated prior to New England's Week 7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers he is in line to be activated before the Patriots face the division rival Buffalo Bills this upcoming Sunday.
There's no guarantee that Uche being activated from inured reserve will mean that he will play Sunday. However, based on how thin the Patriots' linebacker room is now, it seems that Uche's debut will happen sooner rather than later.
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