Devin Asiasi was not on the Patriots' injury report Friday and missed Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills due to personal reasons, but the rookie tight end was placed on New England's injured reserve list Tuesday.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (kind of) clarified the situation Wednesday.
"Yeah, Devin didn't travel to Buffalo for personal reasons," Belichick said.
"It's separate. He's on injured reserve with an injury, not a personal situation."
A close friend of Asiasi's was killed Friday.
Belichick wouldn't give a timeline on when Asiasi suffered the ailment, but the 2020 third-round pick hasn't been on the injury report all season.
"Yeah, I mean, I don't really have anything to add," Belichick said. "He wasn't in Buffalo due to personal reasons, and he's on injured reserve for an injury."
Asiasi hasn't been targeted in five games. He was a healthy scratch in Week 7.
Fellow Patriots tight end and third-round pick Dalton Keene missed Week 8 with a knee injury as a gametime decision. Ryan Izzo is the only fully healthy tight end on the roster with practice squad rookie Jake Burt also on injured reserve. Fullback Jakob Johnson has played sparingly at tight end this season.
