Injuries at cornerback have the New England Patriots on the brink of desperation in the defensive backfield, ahead of a tough matchup with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Marcus Jones and Jack Jones are both on injured reserve. Jonathan Jones was ruled out for the road trip on Saturday. Shaun Wade is expected to make the trip, but he’s listed as questionable to play with a shoulder injury.
Buy Patriots TicketsThat leaves the Patriots with rookie Christian Gonzalez and Myles Bryant as their primary healthy options.
So far, the team has been able to disguise the injuries with Gonzalez’s elite play, along with Bryant making legitimate strides of improvement. But it’s only a matter of time before the injuries catch up to the unit, and the wheels could potentially fall off without a great backup plan in Week 4.
The Patriots could call up Azizi Hearns or Breon Borders from their practice squad, or they could get even more creative and move converted safety Jalen Mills back to cornerback for the game.
Given the opponent and incredible depth they already have at safety, it might be smarter for the Patriots to do the latter. Keep in mind, this is all assuming Wade isn’t healthy enough to play.
The Patriots also have rookie Ameer Speed on the roster, but he’s mostly been involved with special teams. It could prove risky to match him up defensively against an elite football team with a plethora of receiving talent.
Even with all of the injuries, the defense hasn’t broken three weeks into the season. There’s reason to believe they can weather the storm just a little bit longer.
