Patriots Daily: Peppers, Henry Among New England Injuries

With the New England Patriots season coming to a close after three final games, there is a question of who is going to finish out the season. The same four players remained out of Thursday’s practice: RB Rhamondre Stevenson, TE Hunter Henry, OT Conor McDermott, and DB Jabrill Peppers. There are also a number of players limited in practice.

Both Peppers (second in defensive snaps this season) and Henry (third in offensive snaps) carry a hefty workload. If they are unable to go, there are a lot of snaps that need to be filled. Stevnson has been out multiple weeks already with an ankle injury (but was never placed on IR). McDermott is in concussion protocol. Trent Brown was among the inactive Patriots players last week, and remains a limited participant in practice.

So at this point in the season, is playing through pain worth it? For the New England Patriots, is it worth the possibility of further injuring players like Jabrill Peppers, Rhamondre Stevenson, Demario Douglas, and others who are slated to be key members of the team moving forward? And for pending free agents like Hunter Henry and Trent Brown, is the risk of injury prior to hitting free agency worth it for a team heading nowhere?

The answers to these questions depend on both the players and the injuries. Some injuries aren’t worth the risk, and it also could be good to give other players an opportunity to show what they can do this season. Some players are just competitive professionals, and will want to play regardless of the situation. It is all interesting, and worth keeping an eye on down the stretch of the season.

Also in today’s Patriots Daily: Tua’s superpowers; Mariota defends Hurts; New England Patriots 150 Club; and more…

New England Patriots

Patriots Football Now – Trent Brown Doubles Down on Criticism of Cunningham Handling

Patriots Football Now – State of the New England Patriots (Taylor Swift’s version)

AFC East News

ESPN – Is it safe to believe in the Buffalo Bills again?

Pro Football Network – What are Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s ‘Superpowers’?

AOL.com – Trevor Siemian to start at QB for the Jets vs. Washington

NFL News

NFL.com – Falcons fined for violating injury report policy

Yardbarker – Marcus Mariota addresses criticism aimed at Jalen Hurts

Patriots Football Now – NFL Power Rankings heading into Week 16

PFN+ – 2024 NFL Draft Previews

Boston Bruins

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Fun Fact of the Day

Today’s Fun Fact is inspired by the Tweet of the Day below. There have been 17 players in franchise history to play at least 150 games (including playoffs) with the Patriots without ever playing an NFL game with another franchise. The 17 members of the Patriots 150 Club are:

Matthew Slater (262)
Bruce Armstrong (219)
Julius Adams (212)
Troy Brown (212)
Tedy Bruschi (211)
John Hannah (190)
Steve Nelson (181)
Kevin Faulk (180)
Matt Light (175)
Pete Brock (162)
Andre Tippett (157)
Julian Edelman (156)
Gino Cappelletti (155)
Joe Cardona (154)
Steve Grogan (153)
Roland James (150)
Fred Marion (150)

Tweet of the Day

Tweet of the Day is from BrycenNFL, featuring New England Patriots legend Julian Edelman…

Respect Julian Edelman. pic.twitter.com/0MjQlJ2sHf

— BrycenNFL 👑 (@BrycenNFL) December 22, 2023