Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills Injury Report: Rhamondre Stevenson, Hunter Henry, Jabrill Peppers and More

Episode Date: December 29, 2023

As the New England Patriots prepare to face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, running back Rhamondre Stevenson will not be among the Pats making the trip to Western New York. Joining host Mike D’Abate is... Dr. Kyle Trimble of BangedUpBills.com to provide analysis on Stevenson’s injury, along with insight on the injuries to Hunter Henry and Jabrill Peppers. Dr. Trimble also provides a breakdown of the Bills injuries ahead of this upcoming New Year’s Eve matchup.Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-new-england-patriots/id1140512627?i=1000632782469 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG(CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat(CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello to all of you, Foxborough faithful, and thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage, and of course, your first listen each and every day. Remember, Locked On Patriots is available on all platforms, including YouTube, so smash that subscribe button, download, follow, wherever you get your podcasts to ensure
Starting point is 00:00:46 that you get the latest episode as soon as it's available. I'm your host, Mike DeBate. I cover your New England Patriots for Patriots Country of Sports Illustrated. Reach out to me. Let me know what's on your mind on X at M-B-A-B-A-T-E-N-F-L. While you're out there showing some social media love to Lockdown Patriots, please be sure to follow our account there as well at LO underscore Patriots. And of course, folks, today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app and create an account. Use the code LOCKDOWNNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Less than it gets, lowest price guaranteed.
Starting point is 00:01:23 And Pats fans, it is that time of year the new england patriots pen ultimate game of the 2023 season whether you feel it's merciful or not will take place this sunday new year's eve orchard park new york highmark stadium the new england patriots visiting the buffalo bills and if you tuned in yesterday here on Locked On Patriots, you know it was time to cross the streams with Locked On Bills host Joe Marino, my good friend and colleague. Luckily for us today, all of the Patriots and Bills walking wounded are covered right here on Locked On Patriots because I'm welcoming in another good man, another good friend of mine and a very valued contributor here to Locked On Patriots, as well as Locked
Starting point is 00:02:05 On Bills. He is a doctor of physical therapy. He is the publisher of bangedupbills.com, an overall expert when it comes to injuries in the AFC East. My good friend, Dr. Kyle Trimble joins me here today. Kyle, thank you so much for coming to me in friendship today. Welcome back to Locked On Patriots. Of course, Mike. Always
Starting point is 00:02:25 glad to be on here. And it's always our pleasure to have you on. Very few have the ability to give the insight that you can provide when it comes to both the Patriots and the Bills walking wounded. And folks, he also sprinkles in the Dolphins and the Jets. He does it all in the AFCE, so
Starting point is 00:02:41 I want to check out to see what he brings to the table each and every day at bangedupbills.com but you know kyle we'll start with the news of the day when it comes to the new england patriots and that is from andre stevenson being placed on season ending injured reserve obviously he will not be among the patriots making the trip to orchard park this weekend suffered the high ankle sprain while attempting to secure a first down in the first quarter of the Patriots' Week 13 loss to the LA Chargers. Now, Stevenson initially had an MRI,
Starting point is 00:03:14 and that MRI revealed that his injury might have him back on the field within a couple of weeks, but he had not practiced prior to his being placed on injured reserve yesterday since incurring the injury on December 3rd. Now, in this type of an injury with a high ankle sprain, is it typical where these types of return times can fluctuate? And I think what really is on the minds of most Patriots fans is, what does this mean in the future for Ramondre Stevenson and his playing time and his ability to return to the gridiron strongly in 2024? Well, Mike, that's a lot of questions
Starting point is 00:03:52 for Ramondre and obviously with him being one of the few bright spots on the offense, a lot of people are concerned and rightfully so. So I'm going to go briefly back, talk about what happened when the injury occurred and kind of talk about how we diagnose it, what you're looking at, timelines, go along that mindset there. So, like you said, back on December 3rd, he suffered a high ankle sprain to the right side due to hip drop tackle against the Chargers in the first quarter. And he was able to leave and get assessed. And I don't believe he ever came back to the game. And then, of course, they come out later and say he has a high ankle sprain. He'll be out for several weeks there.
Starting point is 00:04:31 At the time, you always look to try to give the guy a chance to rehab and see what they can do and see if they can kind of come back from that. These high ankle sprains can be anywhere from a week or two to three, four, five, six weeks. It depends on the position that they play and of course the severity there too. So that plays a lot of part into that. Some ways they diagnose the high ankle sprains is obviously like you mentioned before through MRI, they're looking at any edema or soft tissue swelling in the affected area in between the
Starting point is 00:05:02 tibia and fibula. And then of course the talus that makes up the ankle joint in the lower ankle foot area. So looking for that, looking at damage to the anterior posterior tail fibular ligaments. And they're also just looking for any damage to the syndesmic ligaments that kind of help keep the tibia and fibula together because it's kind of bound at the bottom and then it articulates over the talus of the foot there and it helps kind of create the ankle joint. So some ways we can diagnose it not through MRI. The MRI is done secondary to once they have a good idea what's going on there. There's a few different tests they can do. That includes a hop test, which is as simple as this. They hop on the ankle and see if that reproduces the pain. They can also do a squeeze test. And what happens is they have the patient lie flat,
Starting point is 00:05:48 they work about halfway up the leg, and then they squeeze the tibia and fibula together up higher. So if they get a separation, that sensation of that pain lower in the ankle, then that's a higher suspicion for a high ankle sprain. Other things they can do is replicate the mechanism of injury. The mechanism of injury is dorsiflexion, which is where the foot comes up, and eversion, which is where the foot comes out. So what happens in the hip drop tackle, like we talked about, the foot got caught, pointed outward, and the foot was flexed upward, and then the foot was rotated out when the player fell on the outside part of the leg there. So that creates a high ankle sprain that separates the tibia and fibula. And that's where that syndesmotic ligament is damaged there.
Starting point is 00:06:35 So they reproduce that by doing that exact motion. They'll get that same pain. And then finally, if they palpate the front of the ankle and they palpate the syndesmotic ligament and it's tender, that's usually a pretty good sign. So you can look at video and say, hey, that looks like a high ankle sprain. And then they test it. And most likely it is. There are times where medial ankle sprains do look like that. But then they turn out to be high ankle sprains, which is unfortunate.
Starting point is 00:07:01 And, you know, it's just really unfortunate because no amount of tape no amount of rehab is going to speed these things up there but like i said sometimes positional demands can allow guys come back quicker than others with running back they're digging their their feet in the ground and driving forward that's gonna put a lot of stress through the ankle so to try to come back and uh push through that makes it real difficult you see a lot of guys lose a lot of power uh lateral mobility and they just can't really ever get back up to speed within the season that the injury happens so it wasn't surprising to see a remandre missed the past three games that's
Starting point is 00:07:34 pretty typical for running backs to miss you know two three games like this here what was surprising was the fact that he was placed on the injury reserve now that might have been due to the patriots out of it. He has nothing to play for. Let's get you right, and let's use your roster spot for somebody else so they want to see how they develop there. So I don't believe his injured reserve status was indicative of the severity of the ankle sprain, but more or less a roster management decision.
Starting point is 00:07:58 And then finally, with the final part of the question, will this affect him for next year? As long as he gives the rest and rehab he needs to, it shouldn um i know guys do have a high history of high ankle sprains you might see some residual laxity in there but it shouldn't be a thing where you have it once and it's going to continue to have it again and again it's just that thing needs to heal up in there and give the time to just really get back to normal if it doesn't and there's residual laxity or he's still having problems they can do a tightrope procedure which we've seen you know plenty of alabama players do we saw kenny pickett the steelers do it earlier this year like they have different options to help this
Starting point is 00:08:33 thing make sure it happens and heals properly just a matter of if there's residual chronic issues but i don't anticipate this being a problem down the line in 2024 and beyond yeah that, that's definitely good news for the New England Patriots and great news for their fans who really enjoy watching Ramondre run the football, like you said earlier. I'm glad you mentioned the hip drop tackle because it's become somewhat of a controversial play or a controversial defensive move in the NFL. Folks, for those of you that are unfamiliar with what a hip drop tackle might be, the defensive player is going to approach his target from either the side or behind, mostly from behind, but it could be from the side as well. They wrap their arms around that player and almost essentially become dead weight to drop into the ground.
Starting point is 00:09:17 And in a lot of cases, they'll land directly on the offensive player's legs. And Kyle, I thought you described that very well in terms of what happened to Ramondre when he left in the first quarter of the game against the Chargers. According to NFL executives, we've heard several come out and say that this type of tackle can pose up to a 25-time higher risk of injury than a normal tackle. If the NFL decided that they were going to eliminate this, is there any reason to believe that high ankle sprains could be reduced as a result? Or is this just something that players, especially running backs and wide receivers, and maybe even quarterbacks, mobile quarterbacks might be prone to no matter what? They're going to be prone to it no matter
Starting point is 00:10:03 what. I know that there's a controversy hip drop hip drop tackle being that dangerous play i know a lot of players come out and said hey how do you want us to take down these guys you can't hit them high you can't hit them low these guys will just try to hang on every which way to take these guys down so i do see the safety risk of the hip drop hip drop tackle i don't know that you want to eliminate it but there is concern you do see injuries we saw the market injuries earlier this year but we see plenty of high ankle sprains as a result of guys just being in the piles getting rolled up on like
Starting point is 00:10:34 it's not going to get rid of the high ankle sprains you might see some of the more traumatic high ankle sprains or even feel their fractures and whatnot reduce as a result of eliminating the hip drop tackle but there has to be a fine line between either you get rid of it or you try to police it just eventually at some point you're not going to be able to take these guys down because you're not going to hit them any which way right yeah very good point i mean it's one thing to want to eliminate injury and do everything that you can to prevent it. But in a contact sport like football, and really I think any contact sport, folks, there comes a risk with no matter what you do on the field, no matter how these guys are taught to tackle,
Starting point is 00:11:13 there's always going to be the risk of injury. And thank you for enlightening us on not only the history of these types of injuries, the typical recovery time, but also specifically to Ramondre, because I know Patriots fans would have loved to see this matchup, especially this late in the season. Ramondre was starting to come into his own and really become the Ramondre of old, finishes the season with 619 yards, four touchdowns, averaging four yards per attempt, but he was starting to be able to break the tackles again and really show that physical aggressive running style and with
Starting point is 00:11:45 the Buffalo Bills allowing a shade over 111 yards per game and 4.6 yards per carry yeah the jobs of the New England Patriots runners would have been made that much easier if Ramondre Stevenson were in the lineup this weekend so ultimately folks we got to wait until 2024 to see Ramondre look fantastic, as my good friend Murph would say, but he will be back on the field. But two Patriots players in particular may not be on the field, and they are on the injury report right now. Jabril Peppers with a hamstring injury and Hunter Henry with a knee injury. We're going to talk about those injuries with Dr. Kyle Trimble in just a moment when this episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast continues,
Starting point is 00:12:26 a proud part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, we've all been there. You want tickets to the big game or your favorite musical artist, and you just can't find an easy and affordable way to do it? Well, you shouldn't have to worry when you're buying tickets to your next big event game time is the fast and the easy way to buy tickets for all the sports music comedy and theater and events near you and game times all in prices show your total up front so you know you're getting a great deal without any hidden fees they're actually obsessed with finding ways to help you save money on tickets. And that includes zone deals, where you pick the section and GameTime picks the seats for an average of 18% savings.
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Starting point is 00:13:46 Download GameTime today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Patriots fans, thank you once again for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. And today we are talking all things New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills walking wounded as we head into this Week 17 matchup in Western New York. New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills set for a 1 p.m. kickoff on New Year's Eve
Starting point is 00:14:12 from Highmark Stadium. Joining me today, Dr. Kyle Trimble. Kyle, earlier on, we talked about Ramondre Stevenson and the injury to the New England Patriots star running back. It definitely hurt this team to have Ramondre out back. It definitely hurt this team to have Ramondre out, and it will hurt this team to have Ramondre out against the Buffalo Bills. That often means that players have to step up and they have to take on the mantra and take on extra responsibility.
Starting point is 00:14:36 Well, one of the guys that would normally take on extra offensive responsibility with someone like a Ramondre Stevenson out would be Hunter Henry, team captain this year, one of the more durable New England Patriots. Coming from someone who covered Henry since he was back with the Chargers, durability and Hunter Henry didn't often go in the same sentence. But since he came to New England, he's only missed one game. And that one game was last week's win against the Denver Broncos. So I know you know, and Patriots fans are well familiar with Hunter Henry suffering a knee injury
Starting point is 00:15:13 at the start of the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs. He had seven catches, 66 yards, and a touchdown in that game, and he did not return to the game. We've seen him in dribs and drabs on the practice field, Kyle, but judging from what I've seen, it doesn't look like he's been a participant in many of these, very, very limited. Judging from what you've seen from his knee injury and what you've heard from some of the reports coming out, is it realistic to expect Hunter to possibly suit up for this game on Sunday?
Starting point is 00:15:44 Watching the video, I have it pulled up on my desktop right now. It looks like an MCL sprain, and it's because the safety or quarterback hit him low while he was trying to catch the ball out to the right. That's why he missed last week because it looked like a thai contusion at first, but then the way that the safety quarterback hit, that it hit the outside part of his knee, which then affects the inside part of the knee, which is MCL sprain. And they take a few weeks to kind of get back.
Starting point is 00:16:10 And with how the team is, you know, doing in terms of wins, losses, you got to wonder if he says, Hey, is it worth me to get back out there? I understand the Patriots can play upset to the bills and I'm sure he wants to be back out there as a competitor, but is he gonna be able to cut, is he gonna be able to block anchor everything you need to do as a tight end? Cause they're so versatile. Can he get back out there and play? And he's been limited this week from what I've seen.
Starting point is 00:16:32 Of course we see with every Patriots injury report, everybody's limited. Everybody's questionable. It's really hard to read. I was mildly surprised. He didn't play last week. Cause usually these guys are playing through and he's coming off some really productive games. I believe the past two games was most productive of the season
Starting point is 00:16:47 so it might just come down to can he feel he can go uh the fact that looks like an mcl sprain he missed last week leads me to believe he won't play in addition to the win-loss record but i could see him trying to go just because your pride and you know wanting to beat the bills great information kyle and the one thing i always remember about covering hunter when he was a los I could see him trying to go just because of pride and wanting to beat the Bills. Great information, Kyle. And the one thing I always remember about covering Hunter when he was a Los Angeles Charger, and even into this while he is a New England Patriot, is he's a warrior. He wants to get back out on the field. This is a guy that really thrives on competition.
Starting point is 00:17:18 And you know as well as I that sometimes athletes can be a little bit too headstrong for their own good. If in fact he pushes and believes that he wants to get back out on the field and wants to help Bailey Zappi and try to see if he can beat the Buffalo Bills this weekend, is there any way that he can do further damage, potentially even damage that could keep him from his 2024 preparations? It's possible. I mean, with the MCL sprain, that's a well-healing
Starting point is 00:17:47 ligament that usually does not require surgery. It just requires several weeks off there. If he does try to play, he would wear a hinged knee brace to limit that varus valgus stress that we placed through the knee. He could hypothetically cause more damage with the already unstable knee in there. You know, you worry about ACL tear, which I know is in this history. You worry about PCL. You worry about all the other injuries in there. The hinged knee brace would help cut back on some of the hyperextension or that varus valgus stress that would stress the MCL further or even the LCL. And then even to a lesser extent would reduce the ACL and PCL. So it does help, but doesn't eliminate the possibility altogether.
Starting point is 00:18:28 And of course, there's other injuries too, because if you create more stability at the knee, then you're putting a little more stress on the ankle or the hip there. So it might just come down to, does he limit his route tree? Does he limit his snaps? Are there ways for him to get out there? Does he come more just a blocking tight end, just work more north-south rather than east-west west it might just come down to what he can do out there
Starting point is 00:18:49 if he can still be effective more so than the next guy up so there's a chance he could cause further damage but the team's not going to put him in unnecessary risk and risk him for 24 2024 and beyond yeah exactly without question and i mean you look at guys like Micah Secchi, Farrell Brown that are on this roster right now, you have to believe that they're going to be able to carry the load just like they did against the Denver Broncos. Patriots probably going to have to get a little more inventive on the offensive side of the ball,
Starting point is 00:19:17 and hopefully cooler heads will prevail in that. Hunter is not the only high-profile injury right now on this team, Kyle. Jabril Peppers missed his fifth straight practice for the New England Patriots today with a hamstring injury he missed his first game of 2023 last Sunday night against Denver his continued absence continues to put his status for this weekend in doubt now Jabril has been one of the Patriots top defenders this year one of their more physical guys in that defensive backfield, and knowing the way the Patriots are looking to approach this Bills offense, what can you tell us about what you've learned about Jabril's injury
Starting point is 00:19:55 and how much of a lingering problem could this be for him? It could linger for a while. It's a fortune he missed last week. It was really interesting about Jabril's injury was there wasn't anything from my side of the beat reporters um that came out during the kansas city chiefs game he played in 91 of the snaps against the chiefs which is pretty much the full game it comes out of the hamstring and then he hasn't played last week which i was surprised because usually if you see it in report injury that's okay maybe it's significant enough you're gonna miss that but then
Starting point is 00:20:25 if you're playing most of the game unless you injure at the very end which once again i didn't see that i'll be honest i don't review every single patriots you know game i don't look at every dolphins game it just there's simply not enough time uh so it's possibly could injure it in the game but it's really surprising he missed he does have a history going back the past few years i don't have a complete history but i know this goes back at least to 2021 potentially 2020 where there's a hamstring injury um it's kept him out for a little bit of time now it's not a death sentence that he misses some time plenty of players have hamstring injury histories it's just how you manage them do you let it do you continue to try to play through that let it get worse or you try to give it
Starting point is 00:21:03 yourself the chance to rest up and recover there? And with his position being safety, he's going to need a lot more of that wide range east-west, you know, north-south to really just patrol the second half of the field. And he needs to make sure that he can get to where he needs to be at on a moment's notice there. So just not having the ability to push off the affected side might prevent him from really getting out there of course backpedaling so he hasn't practiced it all week at all this week and it's you know thursday night as we're talking so i'm leaning toward him not playing once again lost season uh it's just unfortunate because this seemed like this continues to linger so he's gonna need a good rehab recovery in the offseason to really
Starting point is 00:21:43 work on eccentric strengthening to give the hamstring the best chance it has to not re-injure itself but sometimes the best laid plans you know things still fall apart so you hope that he just takes care of himself and just focuses on getting rehab so he can be ready for next season potentially every game yeah without question and look bottom line folks when you look at what the Patriots are playing for, as opposed to what their potential might be for next season, Jabril is going to be a key member of that secondary for a number of years to come. The Patriots are very high on him. If Bill Belichick is still the coach here next year, you can bet Jabril is going to be a big part of that defense. He is very high on his abilities,
Starting point is 00:22:22 and you want to make sure that he's good for long term. So I agree with you. I don't expect him to suit up in this game. Him missing the two practices this week, I think, almost confirms that. We'll get final confirmation later today, folks, when the final injury report comes out. Kyle, thank you for your insight on the New England Patriots. It's been a plethora of walking wounded all season long, whether you're talking Christian Gonzalez and Matthew Judon, right to the players we've talked about today,
Starting point is 00:22:49 and Ramondre Stevenson and Hunter Henry and Jabril Peppers. But the New England Patriots do have an opponent this weekend as well, and there are some walking wounded on the Bills. Kyle's going to give us his insight on the team he covers day in and day out. So don't go anywhere, folks. This episode of the Locked On Patriots podcast will continue right here on the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Locked On listeners, football season is here,
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Starting point is 00:25:10 by Dr. Kyle Trimble, doctor of physical therapy, the publisher of bangedupbills.com, and an overall expert on all injuries with regard to the AFC East. And Kyle, I want to thank you for giving us your insight on injuries to Ramondre Stevenson and Hunter Henry and Jabril Peppers. Definitely injuries that are of concern and of high concern to New England Patriots fans. But you know, I'm a Godfather fan. You know, I love to say keep your friends close and your enemies closer. We are about to do that here on Lockdown Patriots.
Starting point is 00:25:41 The Buffalo Bills right now have a number of players, limited, full participants. They had the good fortune of only having one player miss practice on Thursday. That was Shaq Lawson. It's the time of year. It's an illness. We don't know what the extent of which that's going to extend to,
Starting point is 00:25:58 but there are a few Bills that are popping up on the report for various reasons. We've seen Micah Hyde with an X-stinger. We've seen AJ Epineza with a rib injury. Daquan Jones with a pectoral injury. Leonard Floyd has had both wrist and rib injuries listed. When you look at the Buffalo Bills, this is a team you color day in and day out. What should Patriots fans be watching for when this team takes the field on Sunday? I'll tell you right now, the Bills report looks worse than it really is. But I'm looking at it on my computer right now, and we're going to just kind of work down from the top there.
Starting point is 00:26:32 So Terrell Bernard is one player you're going to want to watch out for. He suffered what appeared to be a medial ankle sprain, I believe sometime in the second quarter. He was just trying to turn up the field and tweaked his ankle there. So I always grow concerned that when it looks like a medial ankle sprain, it could be a high ankle sprain like we talked about earlier. But the fact that he's been limited all week and he's able to continue back and play on it,
Starting point is 00:26:53 I suggest more of a medial ankle sprain. He should be able to play through that, but he might be a little bit limited at times, but he's still a human missile. But he's one to watch out for come Sunday. AJ Epinesa is another one you want to watch out for. He's had a career year so far, especially in contract year. He suffered a left rib injury against the Chiefs,
Starting point is 00:27:12 and what happened was he got the interception off of Patrick Holmes. He got tackled. A huge offensive lineman fell on him, and he had told the press that the ball was wedged between his ribs and when the offensive lineman fell on him and the fact that he's missed the past two weeks and he has been able to practice suggested more a rib cartilage injury which are slower to heal than a rib uh fracture which they can just inject the nerve and then they can numb it up there so he looks like be on track to play but he still might be limited and could have an early exit if he re-aggravates that area.
Starting point is 00:27:46 Some other injuries to note, you mentioned Leonard Floyd. He did suffer a left rib injury. He got blasted. He came right back out and then continued playing, so it's just more of a bruised rib situation, but he's been a tear off the edge all this season. DeMar Hamlin, I don't see him playing just because it looked like he suffered a labrum injury. He got hit really hard on special teams. And the fact that Micah Hyde is looking to come back this week after having a neck stinger kind of puts Hamlin on the back burner, which is fine. He's been primary special teams player this year. What's going on with Micah Hyde is that he had his neck fusion last year, missed all of last year except for two games at the beginning. And then he came back, and then he's been having
Starting point is 00:28:25 three stingers in the past six or seven weeks now and what happens when you have the stinger the stinger is the symptom of the underlying issue there so whether it's another hernia disc there's some type of stenosis in there there's some type of irritation in the brachial plexus somewhere in the neck every time he gets hit it just kind of restarts that inflammation process and he has to give it time to rest and recover. So he's had a long history of neck injuries. I anticipate him playing just because this could be a home game. They want to get back out there, and he's been two weeks,
Starting point is 00:28:54 and he's a far better player than DeMar Hamlin. So there's definitely some of the big ones. And then other guys you want to watch out for, Ty Johnson, he had AC joint sprain. If he doesn't go, Leonard Fournette will probably be called up again because they're running out of opportunities to play him until they get the playoffs. And then the other guy you want to watch out for is Daquan Jones. He suffered a right pectoral injury back in week five against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He tore the pectoral, had it repaired, and he's approaching the three-month mark, which will be this Sunday, Monday, in that range there.
Starting point is 00:29:27 So he's been practicing in full all week, which is a very pleasant surprise. It just might come down to if you need to activate him and start getting him some reps against the Patriots, or do you wait until next week and get him against Miami? So he'll be one to watch. They did release Jermaine Effiety on Thursday, which opens up a roster spot, but they also can bring Justin Shorter back, who's going to be closing his practice window here soon. So there's a lot of moving pieces with that stuff, but watch for Daquan Jones potentially
Starting point is 00:29:56 being activated and then watch for Terrell Bernard, Epinesa, and then Micah Hyde will be ones to see whether they play. But the only one I'm really concerned about moving forward is DeMar Hamill, which might be a non-factor if Hyde comes back. The Bills are in a much different position right now. The Patriots are not necessarily playing for anything, like I said, other than draft position. But the Bills really need this game if they want to get to next week against the Dolphins and have that game potentially end up being for the AFC East Crown. So how the Bills will deploy their players on Sunday, folks,
Starting point is 00:30:28 is going to be a lot different than what we see in New England and what we see from the New England Patriots. That could be a factor as well, but excellent information. Kyle, what can I say? I thank you so much for lending your wisdom, your counsel, the way only you can. I do appreciate all of your contributions and for being a great friend and ally to Lockdown Patriots,
Starting point is 00:30:48 even though we are on different sides of the street on this one. Before I let you go, please let everyone know where they can reach out to you, interact with you, and the type of coverage they can expect from you through this week, the following week, and into the playoffs from the great voice, the great desk, and the great pen of Dr. Kyle Trimble. You can find all my work at bangedupbills.com.
Starting point is 00:31:08 You can find me on Instagram, Twitter, or X, Facebook, Reddit. I post up on the Reddit subreddit all the time. You can find me anywhere. Feel free to ask questions. I'll try to provide the best amount of information possible. And hopefully it's a good game for both sides this coming weekend. Absolutely. Hopefully a good game and hopefully a good game for both sides this coming weekend. Absolutely. Hopefully a good game and hopefully a healthy game for both sides.
Starting point is 00:31:29 Thank you all for making Locked On Patriots a daily part of your New England Patriots coverage. Don't forget, we're not done here on Locked On Patriots yet. We end the week in style as Murph joins me tomorrow. Breakdown the monster keys to victory, folks. What do the Patriots need to do to pull off the upset in Orchard Park? Can they do it? Murph and I will answer that question this
Starting point is 00:31:50 weekend, but in the meantime, I once again thank Dr. Kyle Trimble for all of his contributions, his wisdom, and his counsel today, but I thank all of you for taking time out of your schedule to join us here on Locked on Patriots. On behalf of Dr. Kyle Trimble, I am Mike DeBate reminding you to stay safe and to stay well
Starting point is 00:32:06 and to be the change you wish to see in the world. Have a great day, everyone, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow on Locked on Patriots.

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