Patriots place cornerback Jack Jones to the IR
Jones will miss at least four weeks with a hamstring injury
The New England Patriots have placed second year cornerback Jack Jones on the injured reserve. Jones injured his hamstring in Wednesday’s practice and now will miss at least four weeks. He was already ruled out for opening week against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jonathan Jones will now take the role of the number two corner. He stepped up last year when Jones was hurt and then ultimately suspended by the Patriots for not being on time for his rehab sessions.
Jones moving to the outside will put slot corner responsibility on Marcus Jones and Myles Bryant.
Rookie Christian Gonzalez will be tasked to be the sure fire number one corner for the foreseeable future. He will get the tough assignment of AJ Brown to start. Gonzalez questioned for his lack of size in the draft will now debut against one of the most physical receivers in the NFL. Jones will matchup with third year receiver Devonta Smith.
The Patriots defense has been hyped up to be the strength of this 2023 season. A part of the hype was knowing they drafted Gonzalez to add to Jack Jones who looked like a number one corner last year when healthy. Gonzalez with any rookie will have growing pains has he had some struggles in coverage in the preseason.
Missing one of their top two corners will put pressure on the pass rush to step up. In order for the Patriots to pull of the upset this week they will need pro bowler Matthew Judon to lead the way and speed up the decision making of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Hurts will have a huge day if he is able to continuously wait for his star receivers to get open.
Follow Matt on Twitter @BSTRONG415
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
