Patriots Rule Out Receiver, List Nine Questionable For Bills Game

The Patriots will be shorthanded at receiver when they visit the Bills on Sunday.

New England on Friday ruled out JuJu Smith-Schuster for the Week 17 contest in Buffalo. It’ll be the third consecutive inactive for Smith-Schuster, who is dealing with an ankle injury.

New England also listed nine players as questionable, including safety Kyle Dugger, who sat out Friday’s practice due to an illness. Safety Jabrill Peppers also is listed as questionable after returning to practice Friday. He sat out last Sunday’s road win over the Denver Broncos and missed the first two practices of this week.

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Ja’Whaun Bentley, Kayshon Boutte, Jalen Mills, Trent Brown and Ezekiel Elliott all were removed from the injury report and appear on track to play against the Bills. It’s a somewhat surprising development for Brown, whose playing time and practice participation have been inconsistent in recent weeks due to a variety of ailments, as well as an illness.

Here’s the final Week 17 injury report, along with practice participation, via the Patriots’ official website:

OUT
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, Ankle (DNP)

DOUBTFUL
No Players Listed.

QUESTIONABLE
DL Christian Barmore, Knee (LP)
DB Myles Bryant, Chest (LP)
S Kyle Dugger, Illness (DNP)
TE Hunter Henry, Knee (LP)
LB Anfernee Jennings, Knee (LP)
CB Jonathan Jones, Knee (LP)
S Jabrill Peppers, Hamstring (LP)
SpT Matthew Slater, Hamstring (LP)
CB Shaun Wade, Hip (LP)

Buffalo didn’t rule any players out but listed four questionable, including edge rusher A.J. Epenesa and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones.

The Bills and Patriots are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. The game will carry significant draft ramifications for New England.