Pats inactives: Corner Jonathan Jones ruled out vs. Jets
FOXBORO -- The New England secondary will be down a starter Sunday afternoon against the New York Jets. Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones will miss his second straight game with an ankle injury.
That will leave the Patriots' defensive backfield shorthanded as the team looks to avoid its first 0-3 start since the 2000 season. Rookie Christian Gonzalez remains the team's top corner, and he's got a huge showdown with explosive Jets receiver Garrett Wilson set for Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium. Through two games this season, Gonzalez has played every defensive snap for New England.
After Gonzalez, the Pats will have to rely on corners Myles Bryan, Shaun Wade, and Ameer Speed (a 2023 seventh-round pick) at corner. Veteran Jalen Mills, who has been playing safety this season, could also potentially see some snaps at cornerback on Sunday.
In addition to Jonathan Jones, the Patriots are also missing second-year corners Jack Jones (on IR with a hamstring injury) and Marcus Jones, who landed on IR earlier this week with a torn labrum he suffered in last week's loss to the Miami Dolphins.
In addition to ruling out Jonathan Jones, the Patriots have also ruled out reserve offensive lineman Sidy Sow, who will miss his second straight game Sunday with a concussion.
Tackle Tyrone Wheatley, receiver Kayshon Boutte, and Will Grier (emergency third quarterback) are the other inactive players announced Sunday. So left tackle Trent Brown is good to go for the Patriots after missing last week's loss to Miami with a concussion.
With Brown active, New England should have a starting offensive line of Brown, Cole Strange, David Andrews, and Mike Onwenu, with either Calvin Anderson or Vederian Lowe at right tackle.
With veteran DeVante Parker removed from the injury report on Friday, Boutte is the odd-man out in the receiving corps. That signals that fellow rookie Demario Douglas is out of the doghouse after his costly fumble in Week 2 against the Dolphins, and that he should be back in the offensive game plan against the Jets.
Tune in to Patriots-Jets on WBZ-TV -- the television home of the New England Patriots. We have everything you need come Sunday, starting at 11:30 a.m. with Patriots GameDay, the Pats and the Jets will kick off at 1 p.m., and we'll have full reaction and analysis of the game on Patriots 5th Quarter after the game -- all on WBZ-TV!