FOXBOROUGH — A tough task in Buffalo just got a lot tougher.
The Patriots will be without CB Christian Gonzalez and DT Christian Barmore — two of their best and highest-paid defenders — for Sunday's game at Highmark Stadium.
"This is just what the situation is," Vrabel said. "There’s nothing we can do about it. We can make sure that the guys that are playing are ready and that we continue to do the things that we know are going to help us. But that happens every week in the National Football League. I’m looking forward to seeing the guys that are going to play in there."
Charles Woods, who started for Carlton Davis in Week 2, is expected to see an uptick in his playing time again, but Vrabel said others will be in the mix.
"I think we’ll mix around some guys." he said. "Marcus [Jones] will play outside, inside a little bit. I think Karon's [Prunty] done a really nice job on special teams and so if he’s asked to play on defense, he’ll be ready to go."
The Bills play a lot with multiple tight ends (Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, and standout blocker Jackson Hawes), even in 13 personnel, so the Patriots may be looking at another game with more base defensive snaps than normal. That would mean Jones as one of the top two cornerbacks. The Bills only feature Keon Coleman (6-4) as a distinct size mismatch for Jones.
Without Barmore, the Patriots will likely ask for me from Joshua Farmer, Leonard Taylor and Jeremiah Pharms (promising), and former Bill Daquan Jones, who has really struggled so far.
PATRIOTS LIST SEVEN PLAYERS AS QUESTIONABLE
Players still questionable in the game, and they were all limited in practice:
CB Channing Canada (hamstring)
LB Christian Elliss (chest)
FG Reggie Gilliam (knee)
DE Dre'Mont Jones (shoulder)
TE Eli Raridon (thigh)
S Craig Woodson (shoulder)
For the Bills, top cornerback Christian Benford (toe) did not practice at all this week and is questionable, along with RB Ray Davis (hamstring) and DL T.J. Sanders (illness).
VRABEL VISIBLY IRRITATED WITH MAYE'S SHOULDER SITUATION
Vrabel seemed fairly irritated today, and we're going to make an educated guess it had to do with Drake Maye's shoulder "injury." On Monday, Vrabel was adamant there was no issue that would land Maye on the injury report. Suddenly on Wednesday, Maye was listed with a shoulder injury but a full participant.
Could Vrabel clarify what changed from Monday to Wednesday?
"No, I don’t think I can help clarify it," Vrabel said. "I’ve explained it -- we’re just trying to follow the protocol exactly how it’s given to us as it relates to the injury report and the way that we report it. The fact that it’s a quarterback, I think that those things get looked at very closely. So again, we want to make sure that we’re transparent. So, we listed him on the injury report after he went through the normal game day protocol, post-game. Then we put on the reps that he missed -- which was none. There were no limitations, so he practiced full – he didn’t miss any reps. But we just felt like it was best to list it just to make sure that we are doing everything that we’re supposed to do from a protocol standpoint."
Translation: