Patriots Roster Moves Ahead Of Showdown With Steelers

FOXBORO — After being a mainstay on their injury report to open the 2022 season, New England Patriots safety Joshuah Bledsoe has been ruled out for Sunday’s Week 2 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The second-year safety out of Missouri has been battling a groin injury for the better part of the past two weeks. His downgraded status confirms that Bledsoe did not travel with the team to Pittsburgh.

The Patriots selected Bledsoe in the sixth round (188 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft. Following his suffering a broken wrist at the 2021 Senior Bowl, he spent much of his rookie season on injured reserve. The 23-year-old parlayed strong performance on both training camp and the preseason into a spot into the Pats 53-man roster.

When healthy, Bledsoe continues to project as a versatile safety for the Patriots. His ideal fit would feature him in the D-gap/slot, in a big-nickel-heavy defensive scheme featuring man-to-man coverage assignments. Bledsoe could be an option as a third safety who subs in on late downs to play man coverage down closer to the line of scrimmage. While New England has a solid quartet of safeties in Devin McCourty, Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips and Jabrill Peppers employed in their base defense, Bledsoe is still capable of adding depth to the position.

The Patriots may also have received some positive news at safety, as Phillips travelled with the team to Pennsylvania on Saturday. The 30-year-old left Sunday’s season opener against the Miami Dolphins in the second quarter with an injury to his ribs. While he did not return to the game, Phillips was present for each of the Pats’ three practices this week, albeit in a limited capacity. He is officially listed as questionable for Week 2. While it is still possible that Phillips may be inactive, his making the trip is clearly a positive sign.

Should he be unable to suit up, New England will certainly feel Phillips’ loss. His ability to play bigger than his position accentuates his skillset, but also creates opportunities for his teammates to play in position. He is at his best when aligning as a safety/hybrid linebacker. Without his presence on the field, the trio of McCourty, Dugger and Peppers will have to fill the void on covering tight ends and receiving backs.

In addition to Bledsoe and Phillips, offensive tackle Trent Brown (ankle), linebacker Raekwon McMillan (thumb), cornerback Shaun Wade (ankle) and running back Pierre Strong (shoulder) are listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest. 

Starting quarterback Mac Jones was removed from the injury report Friday after dealing with a back injury and an illness earlier in the week., as was linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley with a toe injury.

Practice Squad Elevations … Not This Week, for New England

Despite a perceived lack of depth at the running back position (due to Ty Montgomery’s placement on injured reserve earlier this week), the Patriots chose not to elevate a member of their practice squad for Sunday’s showdown with the Steelers. Running backs J.J. Taylor and Kevin Harris, as well as receiver Tre Nixon had previously been rumored as potential candidates to join the main roster in Week 2.

Conversely, the Steelers elevated linebacker Delontae Scott from their practice squad. Scott, who was released when the Steelers cut down to their 53-man roster, was originally signed to the Steelers practice squad in 2021 and spent time on the Active/Inactive roster as a game day call up last season as well. He played in one game, against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 11 of 2021.

The Patriots and Steelers are set for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff on Sunday, Sept. 18 from Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.

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