The New England Patriots ruled out six players for their upcoming Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, and four of them are members of their cornerback group.
Starters Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis will miss the contest due to respective shoulder and neck injuries, as will backups Karon Prunty and Channing Canada, who are both dealing with hamstring issues. Needless to say, this leaves the team quite thin at the position heading into a game against one of the most productive passing offenses
in the NFL so far this season.
Let’s therefore reset the depth chart ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Kirk Cousins and the Raiders offense.
53-man roster:
Christian Gonzalez (0),Carlton Davis III (7), Marcus Jones (25 | PR), Charles Woods (22),Channing Canada (29),Karon Prunty (21)Practice squad: Kindle Vildor (28), Al’zillion Hamilton (26)
As of Friday afternoon, the Patriots have only four healthy cornerbacks available between their roster and practice squad. On the 53-man team, Marcus Jones and Charles Woods are the only options left, and naturally expected to see considerable playing time on Sunday.
That said, even they are not at a 100%. Woods, who got banged up during last week’s win over the Buffalo Bills, is also listed on the injury report: he is questionable with a shoulder injury.
Considering this, both of Kindle Vildor and recent addition Al’zillion Hamilton getting elevated from the practice squad on Saturday seems like a foregone conclusion. In addition, the team has also started experimenting with safety Jaylen Reed as more of a nickel option in practice; he too could factor into the mix come Sunday.
As things currently stand, however, the starting trio at cornerback will likely consist of Jones, Woods and Vildor.
