Patriots lose both starting guards for Bears game, rule out five
New England ruled out both starting guards and three cornerbacks for Thursday against Chicago; Walter Rouse and Matt Pryor are set to start at guard
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The New England Patriots have ruled out both starting guards and three cornerbacks for Thursday's game against the Chicago Bears, according to Mike Reiss. Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) and Ben Brown (knee) will not play, turning an earlier expectation that the guards might miss the game into confirmed absences.
Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss): Back in Foxboro, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel says these 5 players are out for Thursday's game: Starting LG Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) Starting RG Ben Brown (knee) Starting CB Carlton Davis III (neck) Reserve CB Karon Prunty (hamstring) Reserve CB Channing Canada (hamstring)
Walter Rouse and Matt Pryor are set to start at guard in their place.
That is a wholesale change to the interior alignment on a short week. The Patriots will have to play Thursday without the two guards they began the week counting on, and the replacements now have a defined assignment rather than simply serving as contingency options.
The defensive backfield is also short-handed. Starting cornerback Carlton Davis III remains out with a neck injury, while reserve cornerbacks Karon Prunty and Channing Canada are both out with hamstring injuries. Davis' return to practice earlier in the week did not translate into clearance to play. The Patriots are consequently down three listed cornerbacks in addition to their two starting guards.
The timing matters because New England's trip to Chicago comes on Thursday, leaving no additional full practice day to change those designations. The most immediate adjustment is on offense, where Rouse and Pryor must take the guard spots, but the cornerback absences narrow the defense's options as well.