Patriots Starter ‘Highly Unlikely’ To Play Monday Night

The New England Patriots will meet their division rival on Monday night. The Buffalo Bills and their fans will do their best to send head coach Bill Belichick and his team home with a big L on their back. Well, Patriots players are here to make things a little difficult for them. It won’t be that easy because one Patriots starter may not play Monday.

Jeff Howe of The Athletic was among the first to report that Patriots safety Kyle Dugger will probably miss the game. The Patriots placed their veteran on the COVID-19 list after testing positive a few days ago. This was a big blow for the team as Dugger is a key contributor for the team.

The Patriots starter won’t play on Monday, Belichick has a replacement

The second-year safety had a key role in Belichick’s defense. New England has the best defense in the NFL right now. Dugger leads the team with 80 tackles and 62 solo tackles in 2021. The talented player also picked off three passes and recovered a fumble.

Dugger is out now and Adrian Phillips will probably fill in for the veteran safety. This is not the best replacement for Dugger, but the Patriots are facing a strong opponent and they need all the help they can get on the field.

The good news? Jamie Collins is probably coming back. He spent the last three games on injured reserve due to an ankle injury. Collins missed too much time but he traveled with his teammates for the game against the Bills. His agent, David Canter, was the first to break the news. He shared a photo of his client and wrote, “He’s back!”

Collins is on his third stint with the Patriots. He has been on the field for 7.6 percent of the defensive snaps. Collins made the most of his limited reps and he has one sack and one interception.

Playing against the Bills is quite a challenge and Patriots players can do it all. Let’s see what happens during the game. It’s a big night for everyone.