Patriots Inactives Reaction: J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones Both Active Vs. Saints

FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots’ injury-riddled cornerback group received some much-needed reinforcements this week.

Trade pickup J.C. Jackson officially is active for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium, as is veteran starter Jonathan Jones.

New England traded for Jackson after losing rookie standout Christian Gonzalez to a season-ending shoulder injury in last week’s blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Jones, meanwhile, returns to action after missing the last three games with an ankle issue.

It’s unclear how large of a workload the Patriots plan to give Jackson, who’s practiced just twice since rejoining the team, but the 27-year-old does have extensive experience in their defense. He spent the first four years of his career with the Patriots, and New England still employs the same defensive coaching staff it had during his final season in 2021.

Deploying Jackson and Jones at the two outside cornerback spots would allow the Patriots to slide Myles Bryant back into his natural slot position and bump Shaun Wade into a depth role. In addition to Gonzalez, New England still is without Jack Jones and Marcus Jones, who both are on injured reserve.

If the Patriots want to work Jackson back in slowly, we’ll likely see Bryant make his third consecutive start.

New Orleans’ passing game ranks 22nd in yards per game and 26th in yards per play this season, and the Saints are tied for 29th in scoring (15.5 points per game).

The following Patriots players are inactive for Sunday:

OLB Matthew Judon
G Cole Strange
WR Kayshon Boutte
OT Tyrone Wheatley Jr.
OT Calvin Anderson
QB Will Grier (emergency third QB)

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Other notes:

— Judon underwent surgery this week to repair a torn biceps tendon and will be out for the foreseeable future, though there’s a chance he’ll be able to return before the end of the season.

— Running back Rhamondre Stevenson is active after being limited in practice all week with a thigh injury. It’ll be interesting to see if his limitations result in a larger role for Ezekiel Elliott, who’s played 99 snaps this season to Stevenson’s 194.

— Left tackle Trent Brown will play after popping up on the injury report Friday with a chest ailment. Who will start opposite him? That remains to be seen.

Will the Patriots roll with Vederian Lowe, who struggled in each of the last two games? Or will they give veteran Riley Reiff a shot after activating him off injured reserve Saturday.

Anderson, who started the first two games at right tackle, is a healthy scratch.

— With Strange (knee) sitting out for the second straight game, expect fifth-round rookie Atonio Mafi to again start in his place. Head coach Bill Belichick had some nice things to say about the UCLA product this week, saying Mafi has a “good future.”

“He’s a smart kid — he’s really smart,” Belichick said Friday. “He just doesn’t have a lot of experience playing on the offensive line, but he gets better every day. Doesn’t repeat a lot of mistakes.”

— Here are the Saints’ inactives for the 1 p.m. ET matchup:

TE Juwan Johnson
S Lonnie Johnson Jr.
QB Jake Luton
G Andrus Peat
WR A.T. Perry
DE Kyle Phillips
OL Landon Young