Patriots Practice Report: Key Defender Joins Growing Absence List

FOXBORO, Mass. — Maybe New England Patriots fans should worry about Jonathan Jones after all.

The veteran cornerback was limited in Thursday’s practice due to an ankle injury, but Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi later reported Jones simply was taking a veteran rest day. However, with Sunday’s home game against the Dolphins just two days away, Jones wasn’t spotted during the media-access portion of Friday’s practice.

Offensive linemen Trent Brown and Sidy Sow also missed their third consecutive practices as they continued to recover from concussions. At this point, it’s hard to envision either suiting up against Miami.

Jonathan Jones, Trent Brown and Sidy Sow all absent from today's Patriots practice. Brown and Sow have been out all week, but Jones was listed as limited yesterday with an ankle injury pic.twitter.com/ACfw6jLnas

— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) September 15, 2023

Jones might be the NFL’s most consistently effective defender against superstar Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill. If he can’t play Sunday night, the Patriots will be left with a cornerback group led by rookie Christian Gonzalez, sophomore Marcus Jones and veteran Myles Bryant. Jalen Mills also could slide over from safety with Shaun Wade providing emergency depth.

Regardless, it’s not a position New England wants to be in.

The Patriots will release their final injury report Friday afternoon. We’ll get a better sense of where Jones, Brown and Sow stand after that.

New England and Miami are scheduled to kick off from Gillette Stadium at 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday.