Riley Reiff suffers injury in Patriots' preseason finale vs. Titans
BOSTON -- The Patriots didn't play Mac Jones or most of their offensive starters, and reporting indicated that a shaky offensive line was the main reason for that decision.
One (presumed) offensive starter who did play was Riley Reiff, though his night was cut short with a lower-body injury.
The veteran offensive lineman -- who signed as a free agent to play tackle but has slid inside to right guard mid-preseason -- went down early in the second quarter, when a couple of bodies rolled up onto his lower right leg.
Reiff immediately went down and struggled to get to his feet, drawing the training staff out to tend to him. Reiff was then evaluated on the sideline before eventually being taken to the locker room.
If the injury is a bad one, it could be a major problem for the Patriots, who are already dealing with injuries across the O-line. Mike Onwenu -- who was presumed to be the starting right guard but could also be the solution at right tackle -- just came off the physically unable to perform list on Wednesday, after he underwent offseason ankle surgery. Left guard Cole Strange suffered an injury during training camp and hasn't played in weeks. Veteran tackle Calvin Anderson signed with the Patriots this offseason like Reiff, though he's been on the non-football injury list all summer. Veteran tackle Conor McDermott looked like the starting right tackle at one point this summer but he, too, has gotten hurt and has been missing for some time.
The Patriots do have some rookies in guard Atonio Mafi and tackle Sidy Sow who look capable of playing, but the overall picture of the Patriots' offensive line is one that can ill afford any more injuries.
