Christian Barmore Among 11 Patriots Limited At Wednesday's Outdoor Practice
FOXBORO (CBS) -- As Christian Barmore was helped off the field in Miami on Sunday, the feeling was there was no way the Patriots defensive tackle would be playing in New England's playoff game the following weekend.
But Barmore was on the field for practice on Wednesday, as the Patriots prepare for Saturday night's Wild Card showdown with the Bills in Buffalo. It appears as though Barmore will be able to do his thing in the middle of the New England defensive line this weekend.
The rookie was one of 11 players limited at Wednesday's practice. Among those 11 players was safety Kyle Dugger, who returned after missing all of last week and Sunday's loss to the Miami Dolphins:
C David Andrews, Shoulder
DL Christian Barmore, Knee
DB Cody Davis, Wrist
DB Kyle Dugger, Hand
K Nick Folk, Left Knee
DL Lawrence Guy, Shoulder
RB Damien Harris, Hamstring
LB Dont'a Hightower, Knee
LB Brandon King, Toe
WR Jakobi Meyers, Thigh
S Adrian Phillips, Knee
Two players did not participate on Wednesday: Left tackle Isaiah Wynn (ankle) and linebacker Jamie Collins (ankle). Cornerback Jalen Mills was also out after being placed on the Reserve/COVID list on Tuesday.
Wynn had to leave Sunday's game early, leaving Justin Herron to protect Mac Jones' blindside the rest of the afternoon.
With frigid temperatures expected for Saturday night's game, the Patriots practiced outside on the Gillette Stadium field on Wednesday. Temperatures in Foxboro hovered around the high-30s during the session, which will feel pretty tropical if Buffalo is as cold as forecast on Saturday.
"We've practiced in just about everything we could, any type of conditions we could have and played in quite a few as well. There's no way to turn the temperature down, up, or anything else. It is what it is out there," Belichick said during his Wednesday afternoon video chat with reporters. "I think, over the course of the year, we've dealt with, again, almost everything. I have a lot of confidence in our players. Through the course of the careers, they've dealt with multiple situations of all various types, so, hopefully, we're prepared for that.
"I'm more worried about the Bills than the weather," Belichick added. "I think the Bills are what we have to focus on and that's who we have to beat. The weather is the weather."
As for why the team practiced on the game turf inside Gillette and not on their practice field behind the stadium, the explanation was fairly simple.
"It's not frozen," said Belichick.
Tune in to Saturday night's Patriots-Bills Wild Card game on WBZ-TV! Pregame coverage begins at 6:30pm with Patriots GameDay, the Pats and the Bills kick off around 8:15pm, and after the game stick around for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!
