Patriots Injuries: Two Starters’ Statuses Unclear Ahead Of Colts Matchup

Two New England Patriots starters exited last Monday’s win over the Buffalo Bills with injuries. It remains unclear whether either will be available this week.

Head coach Bill Belichick had no update on the statuses of running back Damien Harris (hamstring) and safety Adrian Phillips (knee) as the Patriots began preparations for their Saturday night matchup with the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“We haven’t done anything since (the Bills game),” Belichick said Monday in a video conference, “so we’ll see how things are progressing when we get out there.”

The Patriots did not practice during their bye week, so they have yet to take the field since beating Buffalo 14-10 for their seventh consecutive win. They’re scheduled to return to the practice field Tuesday.

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Losing Harris or Phillips would be a significant blow to New England’s offense and defense, respectively. The former has a team-high 754 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games this season, including a 111-yard, one-score effort against Buffalo. The latter has played 81.8% of defensive snaps this season and has four interceptions, including a pick-six.

Harris looked to be in good spirits after last Monday’s victory, and Phillips shared what appeared to be a positive postgame update on Twitter. The Patriots’ well-timed bye gave both an extra week to rest and recover.

New England also is hoping to get starting safety Kyle Dugger back this week. Dugger missed the Buffalo game after testing positive for COVID-19.

“We’ll be happy to get Kyle back, hopefully next week for Indianapolis,” Belichick said last Tuesday. “We could certainly always use him.”

The Patriots and Colts are two of the NFL’s hottest teams. New England sits atop the AFC standings at 9-4, and Indy has won six of its last eight to improve to 7-6 and grab hold of the conference’s second wild-card spot.