Douglas, Boutte ruled out again for Patriots in Week 14
FOXBORO -- The Patriots' offense will be shorthanded when New England faces the Steelers on Thursday Night Football. We knew that running back Rhamondre Stevenson would miss the game with the ankle sprain that knocked him out of Week 13, but receivers Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte will also be sidelined as New England looks to snap a five-game losing streak.
Douglas (concussion) and Boutte (shoulder) were both ruled out for the second straight week on Wednesday. Stevenson was also officially ruled out, along with offensive lineman Riley Reiff (knee) and cornerback Shaun Wade (illness).
Two other New England pass-catchers are questionable for Thursday night: Devante Parker (knee) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (ankle). Both were limited at practice throughout the week, though the team only practiced once on Tuesday.
None of that bodes well for the New England offense, which was shut out by the defensively challenged Chargers at Gillette Stadium last Sunday. With Bailey Zappe at quarterback, the Pats had just 257 total yards on offense, and never entered the red zone against Los Angeles. The Patriots have scored just 13 points over the last three games.
Ezekiel Elliott (who had 92 total yards against the Chargers) will get a lot more run with Stevenson out, but the Patriots have a severe lack of receivers on the roster. Parker was the team's leading receiver against the Chargers, but he had just four catches on nine targets for 64 yards. Smith-Schuster caught just one of the three passes that went his way for 11 yards.
After that, Jalen Raegor was the only receiver with a reception, which went for 11 yards. Tyquan Thornton dropped the only pass that went his way, which was a deep ball from Zappe that could have went for a touchdown had he brought it in. He did not, and the Patriots put a zero on the scoreboard for the afternoon.
Defensive lineman Christian Barmore (shoulder) and offensive tackle Trent Brown (ankle/hand) are also questionable for Thursday night's game.
