Alfonzo Dennard missed his first game of the season on Monday night in Carolina, and it seems he’ll miss at least a few more before returning to the field.
Dennard popped up on the Patriots’ injury report with a knee injury last week and was ruled out of the Panthers game before the Patriots even left for Carolina. That’s because the second-year cornerback had a minor procedure on his meniscus over the weekend, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
Dennard has reportedly been ruled out of Sunday night’s game with the Broncos already, and he is expected to miss a few weeks while recovering from the injury.
The Patriots can ill afford to lose Dennard for an extended period of time. He has been one of the team’s most consistent contributors in the secondary this season, starting eight of the nine games before Week 11 and recording 34 tackles to go along with one interception and seven pass breakups.
The Patriots’ secondary is in dire straits right now and may need an extra body or two ahead of Sunday’s clash with Peyton Manning and the Broncos. Aqib Talib was forced out of Monday’s game late in the fourth quarter, seemingly aggravating the hip injury that kept him off the field for a few games before the Patriots’ bye week. Kyle Arrington has also been dealing with a lingering groin injury, which has limited his production and snaps in recent weeks.
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