Patriots Don't Have Immediate Update on Hunter Henry's Status

The New England Patriots suffered yet another blow to the offensive side of the ball this week, seeing starting tight end Hunter Henry leave Sunday's win over the Miami Dolphins early with a foot injury. Henry, just a few days after restructuring his contract to give the Patriots more cap space, would make a catch in the second quarter and miss the following three snaps on the sideline.

Henry would then go from the blue medical tent to the Patriots locker room. He'd try to return to the field, but would depart again back to the locker room, and the team would rule him out later in the 24-19 win.

The 31-year-old tight end finished the afternoon with three receptions on three targets and 30 receiving yards. After he went down, the Patriots relied a lot more on rookies Eli Raridon and Tanner Arkin to finish out the game. Raridon played a career-high 55 snaps.

"Yeah, it's always tough losing Hunter," Drake Maye said postgame. "Anytime with Hunt and Eli n there, we were kind of down some receivers, those guys were going to be big for us. ... I saw him when he got up from the catch. I was worried about him and probably shouldn't be worried about him, but I'm worried about Hunt. I know he went back in the locker room, but he seems fine in there. He seems like he's walking around fine and he's got a smile on his face. So he's always Hunt."

Oct 18, 2026; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots tight end Hunter Henry (85) reacts after his touchdown against the New York Jets in the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Do Patriots Have Any New Information?

One day later, at his weekly Monday press conference, head coach Mike Vrabel didn't have any futher updates on Henry or his status.

"I don't have any expectations yet," Vrabel said. "We'll see kind of how he responds here, wasn't able to finish the game, so you know, we'll see where he is. And I know Hunter will do everything that he can to get back to help us, and we'll go from there."

Losing Henry would be another injury this Patriots team would need to work through. Already down several key pieces in that game (A.J. Brown, TreVeyon Henderson, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Mack Hollins, Romeo Doubs), the last thing the Patriots would want is their trusty tight end to also miss time.

"I mean, everybody prepares as a starter and you know, we missed Hunter, certainly that leadership and his understanding in tough, close games, he always seems to come up and make plays for us," Vrabel said postgame. "So again, the guys were ready to go. I though Josh (McDaniels) and the offensive staff did a really nice job of moving guys around and guys being ready to go. It's a tough, tough game on the road in the division. These are never easy."

The Patriots will be on the practice field on Wednesday as they prepare for a Week 9 home matchup with the Green Bay Packers. Henry, along with Hollins and fullback Reggie Gilliam (who are both eligible to be activated off of injured reserve), will be names to watch when that practice kicks off.

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