Patriots Daily: Cole Strange Could Remain Sidelined for 2024

The two big injury questions remaining on the New England Patriots roster after the team’s mandatory minicamp were wide receiver Kendrick Bourne and offensive guard Cole Strange. Both players had their 2023 end on injured reserve. Bourne, who tore his right ACL in Week 8, is expected to join the team for training camp despite sitting out the spring sessions. The outlook for Strange and his undisclosed knee injury was far more vague. Jerod Mayo deemed the lineman, “month to month.”

This update did not come as a huge shock. Cole Strange was absent from the original 53-man roster projection posted on Patriots Football Now due to his availability for Week 1 being doubtful. Mayo’s update confirmed just how unlikely that is. Now, ESPN’s Mike Reiss has disclosed the knee injury Strange suffered.

Reiss wrote on Sunday that Strange is dealing with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. Mayo dealt with the same injury himself in 2014. Coincidentally, Reiss reported on Mayo’s injury as well. ESPN’s injury analyst and physical therapist, Stephania Bell, gave the following assessment of such an injury at the time:

“On average, recovery is usually between eight months to one year. “It could take longer, but rarely would it take less,” Bell said, adding that the football-based seasonal calendar is something to consider.”

Cole Strange suffered his injury on Dec. 17, 2023. That leaves it unlikely for him to be ready for opening day, with his entire 2024 season potentially in jeopardy. Here’s hoping for a full recovery for Strange, regardless of how long it takes. He was showing great improvement last season from his rookie campaign in 2022. Getting healthy and building on that progress is crucial for the career of the former first-round pick.

Also in today’s Patriots Daily:

Daily Patriots Fun Fact

Cole Strange has appeared in 27 games across two seasons with the New England Patriots. He has a long way to go to break the NFL or Patriots records for a Chattanooga Mocs alum. Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens holds the NFL record with 231 games played. The Patriots record belongs to Charley Long. The offensive lineman played 126 games for the Boston Patriots from 1961 to 1969.

Post of the Day

An excellent video from the 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics official X account (put the sound on):

The Game That Changed Everything: A Short Film 📽️ pic.twitter.com/EctxG8ElKw

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 19, 2024

New England Patriots

Patriots Football Now – New England has made a pair of roster changes over the past 10 days. First they released UDFA linebacker Jay Person to make room for Steele Chambers. Now they have swapped offensive guards. Antother UDFA, Ryan Johnson, was released on Monday. The next day the Patriots signed a former All-XFL selection, most recently in the UFL. Welcome the newest member of the New England Patriots, Liam Fornadel.

Patriots Football Now – First-round picks Drew Bledsoe (1993) and Mac Jones (2021) were both Week 1 starters as NFL rookies. How long will it take 2024 first-round pick Drake Maye to earn the starting nod in New England? An NFL analyst broke down when the six quarterbacks selected in Round 1 would get their first start. He thinks Drake Maye will start in Week 11 for the Patriots. Do you agree?

Patriots Football Now – New England safety Jabrill Peppers is the latest focus of the Patriots 90-Man Roster Spotlight series. He had an outstanding 2023 season, ranked by Pro Football Focus as the fifth-best safety in the NFL. After watching his running mate Kyle Dugger ink a large contract in the offseason, will Peppers be rewarded as well? He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

NFL News

NFL.com – Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence recently inked a contract that ties him with Joe Burrow for the highest-paid player in the NFL. Each QB is slated to earn $55 million in 2024. The top 16 paid players this season all play QB. A look at the Top 25 Paid Players in the NFL. Spoiler alert: No New England Patriots players are listed.

CBS Sports – Liam Fornadel signing with the Patriots was not the only UFL player signing with an NFL team after the season. As of this writing, there have already been 10 such signings since Sunday’s UFL Championship Game. CBS Sports is keeping fans up to date on all of them with their UFL to NFL Tracker.

Yahoo! Sports – New England’s Drake Maye is one of the quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft class people will watch throughout the preseason and beyond. The player taken one spot ahead of Maye was  Jayden Daniels. The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner was drafted by the Washington Commanders second overall. Jori Epstein reports that the Commanders aren’t rushing to name Jayden Daniels the starter, but it hasn’t stopped him from working like one.

Boston Bruins

Boston Hockey Now – The Florida Panthers couldn’t close out the Edmonton Oilers in Games 4 or 5. They now head back to Edmonton for their third shot at closing out the series in Game 6. The Panthers are attempting to win the first Cup in franchise history. The Boston Bruins 2024 run ended in Round 1 against Florida, but the Bruins still have plenty happening. With free agency looming and the 2024 NHL Draft on the horizon, check out BHN for all the latest coverage.

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