Patriots Week 7 Injury Report: Short Week, But Long List of Injuries

FOXBORO — Are the New England Patriots noticing anything different when it comes to their injuries? It feels like every week, another contributor is going down with something — and then getting put onto injured reserve.

"Nope. Just how it goes," Mike Vrabel bluntly said Monday at his press conference.

The Patriots had already made a move because of their Week 6 injuries Monday, placing wide receiver Romeo Doubs on IR with a shoulder injury. He suffered the injury after catching a 42-yard touchdown in their 26-19 win over the New York Jets. But now they're going to have to fight past these injuries ahead of their Thursday Night Football matchup with the Chicago Bears.

Had the Patriots practiced today (they had a walkthrough), here's what their injury report would have looked like:

The Bears, coming off a 31-23 win over Atlanta Falcons, also had a walkthrough Monday. Here's what their injury report would have looked like:

Offensive Line Took Major Beating vs. Jets

Already down two guards from earlier in the season, the Patriots took a beating up front in Week 6. Three players — Brown, Vera-Tucker and Moses — all left Sunday's win with lower-body injuries. Losing them forced a lot of shuffling throughout the game, and the Patriots would some how pull out a win on the back of their reserves.

"Vrabes, he preaches next man mentality," Matt Pryor, who stepped in at right guard, told Patriots On SI postgame. "Just staying prepared mentally, making sure you're honing into the game plan. That way when the opportunity does come up, you're prepared."

But this week, with just a limited amount of time to get healthy, the team had to bring in some reinforcements. They signed guard/centers Andrew Rupcich and Jacob Rizy to the practice squad, two players who were with the team during the preseason.

Both of those players had inspiring summers, and now join Jake Kubas, Xavier Newman-Johnson and Lorenz Metz on the practice squad. The Patriots also have Bryant working his way back off of IR.

Good news for the Patriots? Moses was limited, already a positive start. Bryant was also a full participant, potentially signaling he could make his return to the 53-man roster this week.

Expect More Charles Woods This Week

In recent weeks, the following Patriots have been banged up at cornerback: Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Karon Prunty and Channing Canada. That's been a long list and it's forced some other players to step into larger roles.

One of those players was Charles Woods, who has also had to nurse a shoulder injury since Week 4. Woods, who has stepped in as a starter since Davis has been sidelined, grabbed his first interception of his NFL career in the fourth quarter against the Jets. That play, where he looked more like a receiver than a defensive back, was the culmination of what's been a lot of hard work for the young defensive back.

"It was a phenomenal play," Kevin Byard said postgame. "For guys to come in, take advantage of opportunities, obviously with CD being down, phenomenal play by him. He’s been playing good football all year. He’s a starting corner in this league, so I’m just happy that, when he gets in there and plays, he’s been taking advantage of the opportunity."

The Patriots had three cornerbacks listed on their initial injury report, so it could end up being another big day for Woods in coverage.

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