The New England Patriots received disappointing injury news on Thursday.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport, linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley will reportedly miss the rest of the 2024 season with a torn pec.
Earlier Monday morning, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the team is optimistic that Bentley could return to action and that the injury “did not appear to be serious.” However, further testing revealed that Bentley’s injury is more serious than initially.
Bentley suffered the injury on Sunday in the first quarter of the Patriots’ 23-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Shortly after, Raekwon McMillan took over for Bentley, and veteran Kyle Dugger seized the defensive signal-caller duties, as Bentley usually wears the green dot.
This marks another loss for the Patriot’s defense without Christian Barmore (blood clots) and Bentley. The linebacker recorded 12 tackles and a half of sacks this season before injuring himself on Sunday.
The Patriots drafted Bentley in the 2018 NFL Draft. He is a seven-year veteran, and this season, he was named captain for the third consecutive year.
In his NFL career, Bentley has tallied 509 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles in 83 career games (68 starts).
The linebacker depth now consists of Raekwon McMillan, Jahlani Tavai, Christian Elliss Curtis Jacobs, and Joe Giles-Harris on the practice squad.
The Patriots (1-1) will continue to prepare for Thursday night’s Football game against the New York Jets.
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.
