The New England Patriots will be down three starters against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Running back Rhamondre Stevenson, wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and linebacker Christian Elliss have been ruled out for
the NFC South road trip, as head coach Mike Vrabel announced during his final press conference of the week.
Here’s the early game statuses for Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Raymond James Stadium.
OUT
Patriots
- RB Rhamondre Stevenson (toe)
- WR Kayshon Boutte (hamstring)
- LB Christian Elliss (hip)
Buccaneers
- RB Bucky Irving (foot, shoulder)
- WR Chris Godwin Jr. (fibula)
- LB Haason Reddick (ankle, knee)
- LB Markees Watts (hand)
Stevenson has missed six consecutive practices due to a toe injury. New England’s leading rusher will now miss his second consecutive game, again putting the depth chart in the hands of rookie TreVeyon Henderson, recent 53-man promotion Terrell Jennings and a potential veteran elevation from the practice squad. The backfield combined for 131 yards and a touchdown across 30 offensive touches to begin November.
Both Boutte and Elliss did not finish what became a 24-23 win last Sunday. Both will now be inactive for the first time this fall. The wideout stands with a team-high five touchdowns on the season, but went from questionable to out with a hamstring injury after halftime. A hip injury resulted in the same downgrade for the off-ball linebacker. Neither returned to practice over the course of the week. And for head coach Todd Bowles, neither did four Buccaneers, including starters at running back, wide receiver and outside linebacker.
QUESTIONABLE
Patriots
- No players listed
Buccaneers
- TBA
No questionable game designations are on deck for the Patriots. That’s the prognosis after ironman center Garrett Bradbury, who has played all 579 offensive snaps through nine starts, returned as a limited participant midway through the week along with rookie defensive tackle Joshua Farmer.
The pair of linemen had been among the sidelined on Wednesday due to respective hip and ankle ailments.
