Patriots
DeMario Douglas (ankle) is one of those questionable.
WR DeMario Douglas is dealing with an ankle injury and is doubtful he will play Sunday. Michael Reaves/Getty Images
The Patriots enter their game against the Colts with a heavy injury toll.
Offensive lineman Cole Strange was the only New England player reported out for Week 13. Strange, the Patriots’ 2022 first-round pick, was designated to return last week as he recovers from injury. a knee injury he suffered last season. He practiced for the first time this season last Wednesday and has been a limited participant since.
Although Strange only played guard in New England, all signs point to him playing center upon his eventual return. The 26-year-old has been coached by veteran center David Andrews while both men have been sidelined due to their respective illnesses.
Head coach Jerod Mayo said Friday he expects Strange and other young offensive linemen to perform over the next few weeks.
“I would say, not to be too specific, but I will,” Mayo said. “You need a guy like Layden Robinson to show what he can do. We need a guy like Cole Strange before the end of the season to see what he can do. You can use Caedan [Wallace] in this same bucket. We need to see what the receivers can do and what they’re going to look like in the future.
As for the rest of this week’s injury report, the Patriots could also miss two other key offensive pieces on Sunday. Wide receiver DeMario Douglas (ankle) and tackle Vederian Lowe (shoulder) were listed as questionable to play against Indianapolis.
Douglas is New England’s leader in receptions (48) and receiving yards (477) this season. Second-year WR and rookie quarterback Drake Maye have connected more frequently in recent weeks.
Defensively, the Patriots are suffering. With seven players on this side of the ball questionable and coming off an embarrassing 34-15 loss to the Dolphins last week, something has to give.
In the secondary, safeties Kyle Dugger (ankle) and Jabrill Peppers (knee) are not certain to play this weekend. Dugger is coming off a rough performance last week and has been dealing with injuries for most of the season; Peppers returned to the team for the first time in nearly two months.
Peppers, who began the season as captain, was removed from the commissioner’s exempt list this week and reinstated to New England’s active roster. He was absent from the team following his arrest on October 5 in Braintree. Peppers faces several charges including assault and battery, among other charges. His jury trial is scheduled for January 22.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft said last month that if the allegations against Peppers were true, the player would no longer be with the team.
Rounding out the rest of the team’s questionable players are linebackers Christian Elliss, Anfernee Jennings and Sione Takitaki (who are all dealing with knee injuries), as well as defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy (neck) and defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. . (foot).
The following five players were full participants in Friday’s practice and have been removed from the injury report: DTs Christian Barmore (not injury-related) and Daniel Ekuale (elbow), cornerback Christian Gonzalez ( hip), S Marte Mapu (neck) and LB Keion. White (knee).
Patriots-Colts is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. on Dec. 1 from Gillette Stadium.
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