The Patriots are preparing to face off with the 2022 Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. However they will be shorthanded with the absence of key offensive players.
After ruling out RB Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle), the Patriot’s inactives are WR JuJU Smith-Schuster (knee), WR Kayshon Boutte (shoulder), Trent Brown (illness/hand/ankle), CB Shaun Wade, and DT Sam Roberts. Thankfully, receivers DeVante Parker and Demario Douglas will both be active today.
Starting with the offense, the Patriots are getting back their leading receiver, Demario Douglas. The rookie receiver missed the last two games after suffering a concussion against the Giants in Week 13. Along with Douglas, veteran DeVante Parker will return and look to resume his role as the Patriots starting “X” receiver. Although questionable earlier in the week, second-year wideout Tyquan Thornton will be active today.
At running back, the Patriots are listing JaMycal Hasty as active. It’ll mark the first time Hasty is active with the Patriots this season. The move comes after the team waived veteran Ty Montgomery earlier in the week. Along with Hasty being active, the team has elevated sophomore running back Kevin Harris from the practice squad. Harris was activated last week but didn’t see any snaps. Nevertheless, the running game should go through Ezekiel Elliott, who is coming off his best game as a Patriot.
Meanwhile, the Patriots will be playing a blitz-heavy Chiefs defense without Trent Brown, who will miss the fourth game of his 2023 campaign. Kansas City has the fourth-highest blitz rate in the NFL. The Patriots and Zappe will have to make adjustments to confront a strong Chiefs defensive line. Against the Steelers, Zappe excelled under pressure, and overall on the season, the second-year quarterback has done better against the rush.
On the defensive side, the Patriots signaled a depth chart change, as rookie corner Alex Austin will play over Shaun Wade. Austin almost had an interception against the Steelers last weekend and looks to continue his success.
The biggest name on the Chief’s inactive list is the absence of running back Isiah Pacheco, who is arguably the Chief’s best offensive skill player, not named Travis Kelce.
Kansas City full inactive list:
Chiefs inactives
- DT Matt Dickerson
- DT Neil Farrell
- ED Malik Herring
- RB Isiah Pacheco
- OT Donovan Smith
- ED B.J. Thompson
- CB Joshua Williams
Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m. at Gillette Stadium.
My name is Ben Belford-Peltzman and I am the creator and writer of The Patriots Beat. I am a 17-year kid who is an optimistic pessimist about the City of Champions. I started The Patriots Beat in August of 2022 and never expected to grow so much but here we are. Feel free to email Thepatriotsbeat@gmail.com with any inquires.
