Patriots Wide Receiver Leaves Preseason Game With Injury

A shoulder injury knocked wide receiver Tre Nixon out of the New England Patriots’ second preseason game Saturday night.

Nixon suffered the injury while trying to haul in a Bailey Zappe deep ball late in the second quarter. He was triple-covered by Green Bay Packers defenders on the play, and safety Anthony Johnson Jr. landed awkwardly on top of him after breaking up the pass.

Nixon immediately grabbed at his right shoulder and was in visible pain as he received medical attention from New England’s training staff.

The 25-year-old remained down on the field for several minutes, with head coach Bill Belichick and position coach Troy Brown both walking over from the sideline to check on him.

Eventually, Nixon got to his feet and walked into the sideline medical tent. The Patriots ruled him out for the rest of the game shortly thereafter.

Nixon is a long shot to crack the 53-man roster in a crowded receiver room. Though he’s never played in a regular-season NFL game, he’s one of the longest-tenured members of that position group, having spent all of the last two seasons on the Patriots’ practice squad after being selected in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

“He’s definitely one of the hardest workers of the bunch,” Brown said Friday in a video conference. “… I wish I had 20 of him.”

Two other Patriots pass-catchers also sustained shoulder injuries during the leadup to Saturday’s game: tight end Mike Gesicki on Monday and wideout Tyquan Thornton on Thursday. Neither player was in uniform against the Packers.