The Patriots’ secondary has been decimated by injuries in recent week, and things only seem to be getting worse.
By the end of Monday night’s game in Carolina, the Patriots were down to just three healthy cornerbacks and none of them were their usual starters on the outside. Aqib Talib was forced out of the game late against the Panthers, seeming to aggravate his hip injury injury in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Alfonzo Dennard was inactive for the game with a lingering knee injury, and he’ll likely miss even more time with that injury.
Dennard is expected to miss the Patriots’ game with the Broncos on Sunday night and may be out even longer than that, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald. Dennard first appeared on the Patriots’ injury report last week. He missed Saturday’s practice with the injury and was ruled out of Monday’s game before the team even traveled to Carolina. He has started eight games on the outside for the Patriots this season, recording 34 tackles with one interception and seven pass breakups.
With Talib clearly ailing and Kyle Arrington suffering from a lingering issue with his groin, the Patriots may be forced to rely on rookie Logan Ryan and veteran Marquice Cole, or even move safety Devin McCourty back to cornerback, where he spent his first two and a half seasons, to fill the void.
The injuries in the secondary couldn’t come at a worse time for New England either, as Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ league-leading passing game comes to town.
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