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: Well, if the QB is going to keep giving word salad and unclear answers when asked about his shoulder, we better put it on there or the league is going to make trouble for us.
Vrabel wasn't even sure if Maye received treatment this week.
"I’m sure that he was in the training room, but I’m not really sure," Vrabel said. "Again, if he’s on the injury report, I’m sure that at some point in time he got treatment. So that’s why we listed him on the injury report."
I'm pretty sure if the quarterback had a real injury that trainer Jim Whalen was working on, the head coach would know in about in .5 seconds.
BROWN TO START AT RG
After Walter Rouse struggled in relief of Greg Van Roten against the Jaguars, Vrabel said the team will go with Ben Brown at RG against the Bills.
"I think Walter will have to be ready to go," Vrabel said. "I think that we will see where we are with Matt Pryor coming over from Arizona, whether we feel like he could potentially help us at the game or be available for the game. I think that’s something that we still have to decide here as he works into the communication, the system, going on the road, and then if not, we’ll have to look to elevate somebody potentially."
The Patriots signed Pryor from the Arizona Cardinals' practice squad. Pryor, 31, is a veteran of eight NFL seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles (2018-20, 2025), Indianapolis Colts (2021-22), San Francisco 49ers (2023) and the Chicago Bears (2024). The 6-foot-7, 345-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick by Philadelphia in the 2018 NFL Draft out of TCU. He was signed by Arizona as an unrestricted free agent from Philadelphia on March 12, 2026, released on Aug. 30 and was signed to the practice squad on Aug. 31. Overall, Pryor has played in 109 career regular season games with 40 starts at right guard, right tackle and left tackle.
"He has played a lot of games in this league," He’s got great size. He’s played, so, he has good veteran ability. He’s seen a lot of things. He’s smart. He’s played a lot of football."
Playing Brown puts backup center at a big risk. Wilson and Brown are the only players on the 53 who have snapped the ball. Xavier Newman-Johnson on the practice squad has experience, so he could be up.