Patriots Practice Notes: Eight Key Players Absent, Two Return

FOXBORO, Mass. — The bad news outweighed the good during Tuesday’s Patriots practice.

But let’s start with the good: Cornerback Jack Jones and receiver Demario Douglas both were back on the field. Jones has been on injured reserve since early September due to a hamstring issue, whereas Douglas missed Sunday’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders due to a concussion.

New England now has 21 days to add Jones to the active roster, or else he’ll miss the entire season.

Now, the bad news. Eight players were absent during the media-access portion of practice, and all of them important.

Here’s the full list:

RB Rhamondre Stevenson
T Trent Brown
TE Hunter Henry
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
DT Davon Godchaux
CB Jonathan Jones
DL Keion White
LB Josh Uche

Good news from Patriots practice: Jack Jones is back. So is Demario Douglas.

Bad news: eight players absent.

Rhamondre Stevenson
Trent Brown
Hunter Henry
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Jonathan Jones
Davon Godchaux
Josh Uche
Keion White

Also a new No. 75. Conor McDermott? pic.twitter.com/RUFDjWWlmf

— Dakota Randall (@DakRandall) October 17, 2023

Stevenson (head), Henry (ankle), Uche (foot), Jones (knee) and White (concussion) all got banged up during Sunday’s loss. Among the group, Stevenson and Jones are the only players who returned to the game.

Godchaux and Brown have been dealing with ankle and chest injuries, respectively, and were questionable for Week 6. But both played in Vegas, potentially indicating they simply were getting extra rest Tuesday.

Smith-Schuster, like Douglas, missed the Raiders game due to a concussion.

White’s status is unclear, but recent NFL concussion history suggests he could miss a game.

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Finally, there was a new offensive lineman wearing No. 75 at practice, and all signs point toward it being Conor McDermott. The veteran tackle was at the facility Tuesday morning, according to the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.

McDermott played for New England in 2022 and was re-signed during offseason. He was cut after training camp with an injury settlement, but he’s had a stall in the locker room all season.

At the time of this writing, the Patriots didn’t have an open spot on their active roster but did have one on the practice squad.

The Patriots are scheduled to practice again Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.