The New England Patriots continue to march closer to their first preseason matchup on Thursday, August 12,as they host the Washington Football Team at 7:30pm at Gillette Stadium. However, the Pats continue to make roster news. From injury updates on key players to a subtraction from the quarterback depth chart, here are the latest Pats news and notes, courtesy of the Patriot Maven Notebook:
Injury Update: Hunter Henry
During Sunday’s practice, Patriots TE Hunter Henry injured his shoulder when attempting to make a block during team drills. Henry spent time with the team’s training staff, before leaving the field. He did not return.
Per ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Henry will undergo an MRI. While initial indications are that the injury doesn't appear serious, it is considered painful enough to cause the new Pats tight end to miss time in the preseason.
With Henry now possibly sidelined into the preseason, the depth tight ends on New England’s available tight end arsenal consists of Jonnu Smith. Matt LaCosse, Devin Asiasi, Troy Fumagalli and David Wells. .
Injury Updates; David Andrews, Joe Cardona
In addition to Henry, a pair of Patriots stalwarts also left the practice fields on Sunday after suffering injuries.
Center David Andrews appeared to injure his right snapping hand. He sat out the rest of Sunday’s session on the sidelines. As reported by Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the Pats offensive captain appears to be “OK.”
Long snapper Joe Cardona injured his hand, and left practice on Sunday alongside Hunter Henry. Howe also reported that Cardona “could potentially miss a little time” throughout the remainder of training camp. Both DE Deatrich Wise (on kicks) and TE Jonnu Smith (on punts) handled the long-snapping duties for the remainder of practice.
Patriots Waive QB Jake Dolegala
As first reported by Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus, the Patriots have decided to release Jake Dolegala. The 24-year-old had re-joined New England, after being claimed off waivers from the Green Bay Packers on July 28. July quarterback group down to four players again.
During his brief second-stint in Foxboro, Dolegala has served as the fourth quarterback behind Cam Newton, Mac Jones and Brian Hoyer. Jarrett Stidham has remained on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list since the beginning of training camp, after undergoing back surgery.
While he did participate in all ten of the Patriots’ training camp practices after returning, Dolegala was only used sparingly in full-team drills. His release does open a spot on the Patriots 90-man roster. However, it is questionable as to whether the team will choose to fill it, considering roster cut-downs are set to begin on Thursday, August 17. At that time, the Patriots (as all NFL teams) are required to trim their rosters from 90 to 85 players.
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