FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots do not plan to activate rookie offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste off the reserve/non-football injury list, offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia said Monday.
Asked whether the team views this season as a de facto redshirt year for Cajuste, Scarnecchia replied: “That’s probably a pretty good way of saying it.”
“He’s probably not ready to do anything and probably won’t be until next year,” the coach added.
[nesn_embed_the_score team=”patriots”]
Cajuste, whom the Patriots selected in the third round out of West Virginia, missed all of spring practice and training camp after undergoing surgery in March to repair a torn quad. Players on the reserve/NFI list are eligible to return after Week 6, but the team evidently does not intend to activate the 23-year-old.
O-line play has been an issue this season for the Patriots, who lost starting center David Andrews to a season-ending illness before the season and have been without left tackle Isaiah Wynn since Week 2 (though Wynn is eligible to begin practicing this week). Right guard Shaq Mason also missed Sunday’s 27-13 win over the Cleveland Browns with an ankle injury, with veteran reserve James Ferentz making his first career start in his place.
Scarnecchia, who is in his 34th season as a Patriots assistant, blamed himself for the unit’s struggles.
“I think it’s everything,” he said. “We have to do things better. I have to coach better. I have to coach a lot better than I’ve been coaching, so I’d start with that, and we have to do things a lot better than we’ve been doing. … I know what I really believe in, and we’re not seeing enough of what I believe in out there, so I’m not getting my message across. I think I have to do a lot better job than what I’ve been doing.”
