Patriots vs. Bengals Inactives: Jakobi Meyers, Rhamondre Stevenson IN, Who’s OUT?
FOXBORO — The New England Patriots are set for a Saturday afternoon contest with the Cincinnati Bengals at Gillette Stadium.
With just under an hour until the 1 p.m. ET kickoff on Christmas Eve, the Patriots and Bengals have released their lists of inactives:
PATRIOTS INACTIVES:
CB Jalen Mills
WR DeVante Parker
CB Jack Jones
RB Damien Harris
WR Raleigh Webb
DT Sam Roberts
S Joshuah Bledsoe
What it means for New England:
With DeVante Parker (concussion) already ruled out, fellow wideouts Jakobi Meyers (shoulder) and rookie Tyquan Thornton (knee) had also been listed as questionable. Still, neither will be at 100 percent capacity in the frigid temperatures on Saturday. As a result, Nelson Agholor enters this matchup as one of only two healthy receivers, the other being Kendrick Bourne. The pair may see an increase in targets from quarterback Mac Jones.
Harris will now miss his fourth consecutive game. He has not played since leaving the Patriots 33-26 Thanksgiving night loss to the Minnesota Vikings on the opening drive of the second half with a thigh injury. being sidelined, New England will look to a pair of rookies to carry the ball in the ground game to provide Rhamondre Stevenson with some relief.
The absence of cornerback Jalen Mills automatically thins an already banged-up Patriots secondary. While veteran Jonathan Jones (chest) was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report, he will be active. Rookie Jack Jones, however, will be out. With both Mills and Jones sidelined, New England faces a dilemma on the perimeter in covering Cincinnati’s stud wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
BENGALS INACTIVES:
DE Sam Hubbard
RB Chris Evans
CB Jalen Davis
T D’Ante Smith
G Jackson Carman
TE Hayden Hurst
What it means for Cincinnati:
Defensive end Sam Hubbard was officially ruled out with a calf injury on Friday. The 27-year-old has compiled 33 solo tackles, 6.5 sacks and one forced fumble this season for Cincinnati.
Cornerbacks Cam Taylor-Britt (shoulder) and Jalen Davis (Thumb) were given injury designations heading into this matchup. However, Taylor-Britt is active, after being a full participant at Friday’s practice. Davis’ thumb injury was enough to keep him out of the lineup against the Pats.
Despite reports that tight end Hayden Hurst was trending towards playing on Christmas Eve, he will be inactive. Hurst is the top tight end on the Bengals roster, having caught 48 passes for 400 yards and two scores. Reserve Mitchell Wilcox and ex-Patriot Devin Asiasi are the remaining options on the Bengals’ depth chart.
Follow Mike D’Abate on Twitter @mdabateNFL and Listen/Subscribe to his daily podcast: Locked On Patriots
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