The injury that knocked Matt LaCosse out of last Thursday’s New England Patriots-New York Giants game reportedly will sideline him for the foreseeable future.
The Patriots tight end is expected to miss “at least a few weeks” after spraining his MCL in the team’s 35-14 victory over the Giants at Gillette Stadium, according to a report from NFL Media’s Mike Giardi.
LaCosse played just 15 offensive snaps in that game, sitting out much of the final two-and-a-half quarters before returning to the field for game-ending kneeldowns. In his absence, tight end Ryan Izzo played 80 of New England’s 82 offensive snaps.
To fill the void at the position, the Patriots reportedly are re-signing veteran tight end Ben Watson, whom they released last week upon his return from a four-game suspension. New England played the first six games of its schedule with LaCosse and Izzo as the only tight ends on its 53-man roster.
Watson is expected to take fullback Jakob Johnson’s roster spot. Johnson left last Thursday’s game with a shoulder injury and reportedly will be placed on injured reserve.
Injuries have plagued LaCosse since the summer. He hurt his ankle in the Patriots’ preseason opener and didn’t play again until Week 2 of the regular season, when he logged 41 snaps in a blowout win over the Miami Dolphins. He’s been inactive for two games and clearly limited in two others.
“Matt hasn’t been out there as much as we all would have wanted — certainly what he would have wanted,” quarterback Tom Brady said last week.
LaCosse’s latest injury came one week after he played 72 of 77 offensive snaps in the Patriots’ Week 5 victory over the Washington Redskins.
“I’ve been getting better,” he said after that game. “I think it was nice to go out there and play a complete game and be out there back with my teammates fully.”
The 6-0 Patriots visit the 1-4 New York Jets next Monday night.
