What Patriots’ Rash Of Cornerback Injuries Mean For Defense

The New England Patriots have three cornerbacks named Jones on their 53-man roster.

All three of them will be unavailable for Sunday’s must-win matchup with the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.

The Patriots on Saturday ruled out veteran corner Jonathan Jones, who had been listed as questionable with an ankle injury. It’s the second straight DNP for the 30-year-old, who also sat out last week’s primetime loss to the Miami Dolphins.

One day earlier, New England officially placed second-year pro Marcus Jones (shoulder) on injured reserve, sidelining him for at least the next four weeks and potentially longer. He joined fellow 2022 draftee Jack Jones (hamstring), who landed on IR before the season opener and cannot return until Week 5.

That trifecta of injuries leaves the Patriots severely shorthanded at an important position. Their only three healthy, rostered corners are rookie Christian Gonzalez, Myles Bryant and Shaun Wade.

Gonzalez’s strong play has been a godsend this season. He hasn’t missed a snap through two games and has helped keep this battered position group afloat while facing some of the NFL’s premier wide receivers. The first-round draft pick held up remarkably well against Tyreek Hill last Sunday.

Bryant is a solid depth player but rarely plays as an outside cornerback, which he was forced to do after Marcus Jones’ injury last week. Wade has been active for just seven of a possible 36 games since joining the Patriots in 2021, and his 14 snaps against Miami were a career high.

The Patriots do have a few other options beyond those three. The most notable is Jalen Mills, who’s been playing safety since the spring but was a starting corner for New England in each of the last two seasons.

Asked on Friday whether the Patriots might consider moving Mills back outside, head coach Bill Belichick replied: “Sure. He’s played out there.”

It’s worth noting Mills said he prefers to stick at safety, where he believes he can play more aggressively. He hasn’t seen much playing time this season, though, logging just nine snaps in Week 1 and 13 in Week 2.

“That’s really kind of on the coaching staff,” the 29-year-old said Friday when asked about a potential position change. “My focus this offseason and this season has been in the safety room, so I’ll kind of just leave that to the coaching staff.”

The Patriots also signed three reserve cornerbacks to their practice squad within the last week-and-a-half. William Hooper and Azizi Hearn are undrafted rookies out of Northwestern State and UCLA, respectively. Hooper played for Green Bay this preseason, while Hearn spent the spring and summer with Josh McDaniels’ Las Vegas Raiders.

The third practice squadder has far more NFL experience. Breon Borders has spent time with 12 different NFL franchises — more than a third of the league — and appeared in games for six of them. He played in one game for Chicago last season and hasn’t played a defensive snap since 2021.

(UPDATE (4:45 p.m. ET): The Patriots chose not to elevate any practice squad players for Sunday’s game, so Hooper, Hearn and Borders will not be in uniform.)

Sixth-round rookie Ameer Speed is listed as a cornerback, but the Patriots view him as a special teams-only player, a la Matthew Slater and Brenden Schooler. So, he’s unlikely to factor into the plan to replace the Joneses.

Fortunately for the Patriots, their opponent this week is arguably the NFL’s worst starting quarterback, Zach Wilson. Wilson, the injury replacement for Aaron Rodgers, is 0-4 with two touchdowns and seven interceptions against New England in his career.

The Jets’ receiving corps also isn’t as deep as the ones the Patriots faced in their losses to Philadelphia and Miami. It’s a top-heavy group led by 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson, with Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Mecole Hardman filling out the depth chart. And New England should be able to generate ample pressure against a Jets offensive line that’s struggled this season and will be without starting left tackle Duane Brown.

It would not be surprising to see Gonzalez shadow Garrett Wilson for much of Sunday’s contest, leaving some combination of Bryant, Wade, Mills and an elevated practice squadder or two to deal with the rest of New York’s wideouts.