Week 7: Jets vs. Patriots Injury Report and Analysis

Jets

DNP

Kenrick Ellis (Knee)- Ellis will miss the next 3-5 weeks with a sprained knee.

Sione Pouha (Back)- It is unclear whether Pouha will play against the Patriots. Damon Harrison and Mike Devito will likely share snaps again at tackle. Expect the Patriots to attack the center of the Jets defense with their stable of running backs more than the Colts did.

Nick Mangold (Ankle)- Mangold is expected to play despite his ankle sprain, and he will be needed against the Patriots line which is anchored around Vince Wilfork. Still, playing on a bad leg against such a big player could pose problems for the inside run game.

Clyde Gates (Shoulder)- Gates likely will miss the game against the Patriots. Stephen Hill has returned from his injury and Jason Hill will probably see more playing time as a result of Gates’ absence.

Eric Smith (Knee)- Though hopeful, he will most likely not suit up against the Patriots, meaning that rookie safeties Josh Bush and Antonio Allen will need to step in during sub packages.

Bilal Powell (Shoulder)- Powell will miss the Patriots game after an MRI discovered he has a dislocated shoulder. He had been running well behind Shonn Greene so this deals a blow to the Jets backfield depth.

Joe McKnight (Ankle)- McKnight will likely also miss the Patriots game, leaving the Jets with just Shonn Greene and rookie practice squad player Jonathan Grimes available Sunday. Greene may have turned a corner last week, and typically the more carries he gets throughout a game the stronger he performs. If this holds true, the lack of backfield depth may not make as big of an impact. However special teams takes a big hit without McKnight returning kicks.

Limited

Bart Scott (Toe), Brian Thomas (Hamstring)- Both Scott and Thomas were limited in practice but expected to play. They will be needed to slow the Patriots rush attack and Tom Brady’s short passing game.

Stephen Hill (Hamstring)- Hill returned last week against the Colts and caught a touchdown. With the Patriots secondary being exposed last week against Seattle, look for the Jets to take a few deep shots with Hill to take advantage of his size and speed.

Dustin Keller (Hamstring)- Keller returned last week with a good blocking performance but did not make much of an impact in the air. Then again the Jets barely threw the ball against the Colts. It would be surprising if Keller did not catch more passes this week. The Patriots weakness is their pass defense and Sparano should find a way to get Keller involved to take advantage of that.

Patriots

Out

Brandon Bolden (Knee)- It is unclear whether Bolden will play against the Jets. He has been effective running the ball, but the Patriots still have good backfield depth. Even if Bolden plays, Stevan Ridley will likely see most of the carries.

Tracy White (Foot)- White looks unlikely to play Sunday as he missed practice with the foot injury that kept him out last week. With Donta Hightower playing but still banged up, the Patriots linebacking corps look thin heading into Sunday’s matchup.

Limited

The Patriots have a large contingent of players who were limited in practice, but all are expected to play against the Jets. They include:

S Patrick Chung (shoulder),WR Julian Edelman (hand),S Steve Gregory (hip),TE Rob Gronkowski (hip),TE Aaron Hernandez (ankle),LB Dont’a Hightower (hamstring),G Logan Mankins (calf, hip),C Nick McDonald (shoulder),CB Sterling Moore (knee),T Sebastian Vollmer (back, knee),WR Wes Welker (ankle).