Patriots Lose Another Top Receiver to IR

It’s hard to imagine that receiver depth would be the number one concern for the New England Patriots heading into the year, when a big offseason move forced Kayshon Boutte out of rotation and ultimately resulted in his trade to Houston.

Now, just five weeks into the season, the Pats have seen two of their top options hit the injured reserve. First, it was A.J. Brown who went down with an ankle injury just three quarters into the first game against Seattle. Mack Hollins, who stepped up as a clear safety valve for Drake Maye in his stead, is the latest to suffer a multi-week injury.

Hollins left Sunday’s game against the Bills in the third quarter with a non-contact lower leg injury. While he had said a few days ago that he hoped to return to practice this week, it turns out the injury is more serious than that. The 33-year-old wideout was placed on IR on Saturday due to a calf strain and will be out for the next four weeks.

Joining him will be fullback Reggie Gilliam, who played through an ankle injury against Buffalo but picked up a new knee injury which forced him out of practice all week. Gilliam had already been ruled out for this weekend but will now miss the next four games alongside Hollins.