The Patriots just got BAD news...

Today, just moments ago, the New England Patriots posted three names, A.J. Brown, Travion Henderson, and Marcus Bryant. All three are now officially out versus the Miami Dolphins tomorrow. Matt Collins and Romeo Dams were already out, so the receivers Drake May has left this game are Demario Douglas, Eftim Chisholm, and Kyle Williams. Yet the Patriots are still a 7.5-point favorite over a 1-5 team. But this is how a trap looks. The Patriots just got bad news, and of course all of this will have massive implications to the game tomorrow. Quick thing before we get into it, though, we're currently at 14,051 subscribers. The goal now is to reach 15, and if you like breaking news videos like this, well hit subscribe for all the latest news on the New England Patriots. Let's start with the guy who was supposed to fix this offense, A.J. Brown. He was on injured reserve after week one with a high ankle sprain. So exactly who catches the ball? Well, in the two games since he came back, Brown only had six catches on 16 targets for 75 yards. Then the knee flared up. Vrabel said on Thursday, quote, just wasn't able to finish practice on Wednesday, so we continue to treat him. Friday, he didn't practice either. Travion Henderson is out too, but this one is an illness, not the ankle. He left the facility early on Wednesday. Now, he has 203 rushing yards and one touchdown this season, and he's also the key kick returner in this team as well. So two players are gone from the offense, but the real question is who the heck is Drake May going to throw to? But even despite all this, the Patriots are still favored on the chalk sheet at 76% to beat the Dolphins tomorrow at 425 Eastern Time. Speaking of Calshi, they are today's sponsor, and on Calshi you're trading directly against other users, not the house like a traditional sportsbook. You're buying yes or no contracts and the outcome of events across sports, politics, or even the weather. Now, I'm still going to trade on the Patriots to win this game, and if you trade on them, $80 will win you $103.51. If you're interested in trying out Calshi, use the link in the description or in the pinned comment. And when new users sign up with the code DIGESTNFL and trade $25, you'll get an extra $55 instantly added to your account. Thank you Calshi for sponsoring today's show. Now let's get back to the problem, May's passing game. To understand why this hurts, let's think about what Brown meant to this team this offseason. He's not a depth piece, he's the bet this team made. His cap hit is $7.04 million a year. By 2029, it's going to be up to $23.5 million a year. He sat on injury reserve for more than a month, and his first practice was back on October 15th. A contract that climbs like that only works if he's on the field, and so far, he's been on it for two games, basically. Henderson is the other side of that. He cost about $2.54 million this year, and this is his second appearance on the injury report this month. Different issues, though. The ankle sprain came in the 45-17 win over the Raiders this week again, and it's an illness that hopefully can go away after this week. So again, who's left to catch it? Well, Hunter Henry leads the team with 296 receiving yards. The second leading receiver is Romeo Dobbs, who has 261, and he's already out. And it's not just receiving. Henderson is the kick returner, and the coaches have said they always consider him there. So somebody else is filling the kickoff, too. Take Brown, Dobbs, and Hollins away, and this is what's left. A tight end, a slot receiver, and a lot of question marks. And this matters because May is in the hottest stretch of his season thus far. I mean, look at this season. Through seven games, May has 1,784 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. He's averaging 8.3 yards per attempt, and while his eight interceptions are third most in the NFL, a lot of that has been behind him as of late. And on Chicago, this past week against them on Thursday Night Football, he went 24 of 31 for 321 and two touchdowns, and they still ended up losing in that one. That's the part to hold on to. Even at a loss, he was great. This offense will always run through him, but this time with less guys on the outside. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel said it takes a mature young guy to keep leading after you've made an error, and that May knows exactly how to do that now. The quote matters tomorrow because he's about to face a tough test with the fewest options he's had all year. Remember where they're playing. Hard Rock Stadium in Miami is not exactly the most football-weather place in the world. In fact, May said earlier this week, quote, I grew up in the South. I'm a New England guy now, but of course, you know, hopefully he does all right with the heat. In the last five games, his passer rating is 126.5. Before that, it was just 69.2. Four straight games with two or more touchdown passes, his best streak this season. Everything works except one thing. Reporter Taylor Koz pointed out May has lost nearly 100 more deep yards to drops than the next closest player in the NFL. Now take out Brown out of that. The guy who had six catches on 16 targets is gone, and the room behind him? Douglas, Chisholm, Williams, and a couple of practice squad guys. So if the air game gets thinner, the offense has to lean on the ground, and that's a problem too because, well, Trayvon Henderson is not here. While all of this is happening, his two touchdown passes away from passing Tony Eason for sixth on the franchise list, and he's chasing it with a receiver room that is continuously shrinking. Ramondre Stevenson leads the Patriots with 285 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Corey Kiner is next among the backs with 151 yards, but there's a lot of confidence in Kiner moving forward. May himself is actually the second leading rusher on this team with 211, as he's just ahead of Henderson's 203. Which tracks, a Patriots reporter, Taylor Kyles, calls him the NFL's most productive scrambler this season. So when a play breaks down with this thin as a receiving room as it gets, the answer is probably going to be May's legs. And that's a risk against a defense that wants him to run into a hit. And Stevenson isn't just a runner. May called him one of the best third down backs in the NFL. Miami isn't going to make it easy. Ollie Gordon ran 25 times for 103 yards last Sunday versus the Jets, so their running game is something to be watched as well. And a surprise as up front, left tackle Marcus Bryant is out with an ankle injury, an issue that he didn't have on Friday's report. So not only does the wide receiver room keep shrinking, the offensive line can't get healthy as well. The Patriots can still elevate players from the practice squad as receivers Kyle Dixon, Chandler Rayboy, Cameron Dornier, and Ryan Miller have the most likely option to be put up. Mike Reese of ESPN reported the Patriots do have until 4 o'clock this Saturday for the roster moves and elevations, and they do have one spot open on the 53-man roster. So they, in theory, could sign somebody to their active roster as well. Ryan Miller is my guy to watch. He's 6'2", 217, and his special team's work makes him the top elevation candidate. And Pop Douglas led the receivers through drills this week ahead of Kyle Williams and Ethan Chisholm III. He becomes the new top option, which is a crazy thing to say, but Pop has been playing great as of late. So the Patriots can lose their best receiver, a running back in their left tackle in one afternoon, and they can't just go out and fix it because the game is tomorrow. However, the Dolphins, they're 1-5, and you can see why people want to write this game off as still a Patriots win no matter who they put out there. But Miami, they're coming off a win. They won last week versus the Jets, 28-25. Now, Devon Achane is on injured reserve, so Ali Gordon is the lead back. And Malik Willis, their new quarterback, has looked pretty solid. Caden Proctor is out with a concussion. And cornerback Juju Brents is also questionable as well for them. Kyle's warned that New England has to watch Miami's run game. And that matters more now that their own backfield is down a starter. So the Dolphins, they don't need to be good. They just need to be annoying. Run the ball, stay in it for 60 minutes, and you never know what could happen late in the game. Now, against the spread, the Patriots are 4-3, the Dolphins are 2-4. The total right now, 44.5, which tells you the books expect a low-scoring game, and that's the Dolphins' whole plan, shorten it up. A short game against a thin offense is exactly where the upset lives. Now, in terms of other injury news for the New England Patriots, two defenders were questionable on Friday, cornerback Carlton Davis III with a neck injury and linebacker Christian Ellis with a chest injury. The team's post didn't, of course, downgrade them to out, but we also have to check and wait for the inactives tomorrow before kickoff. And they can't add anyone. ESPN's Mike Reist reported that New England has the lowest cap space in all of the NFL, at just $1.5 million. Now, they did free up some space this morning after restructuring the contract of Hunter Henry, and they're a little bit over $3 million at this point in time. So, at this point, you've got a gas tank that is not exactly full, and you can't really buy anything to fill it up. All you've got is a practice squad receiver you can call and try Try and patch the hole for now. And the standings don't leave much room. Buffalo is 5-1, New England's 4-3, Miami, they're 1-5, so this is a game you need to win. Patriots right now, they have 8th seed in the AFC according to ESPN standings. You lose to a 1-5 team, the Patriots go 4-4. It's not a situation for success. However, flip it around. Kalshi still gives Miami just a 24% chance to win, which is roughly a 1-4 chance. And the moneyline on the Dolphins, it's just plus 310. That's the number to remember, though. One chance in four sounds small until you look at, again, who was suiting up for New England. Now, of course, remember that 76% on Kalshi was right after the downgrades were announced. And here's the thing that bothers me. May just had four straight games with two touchdown passes, and now the offense that has built that is gone in a Saturday afternoon tweet. Now, if May can keep going anyways, that's going to be the real news, as it means that Drake, he's not just a quarterback who can be a part of the supporting cast. It means he's driving this team. He's the MVP. And for people who want to still try and crap on him, he has done this with the... The force of friendship protecting him and going out there and receiving. I still think the Patriots can win, but the seven and a half take is a little bit harder to push me across. This game gets uncomfortable and May has to carry a thin room across that line himself. Now, who will the Patriots miss more on Sunday? A.J. Brown or Travion Henderson? Comment A for A.J. or T for Travion. Let me know down in the comment section. The game is tomorrow at 4:25 Eastern Time. We'll be live for it here on Patriots Digest, so come check us out. There's nobody left to hide on this one, but we're still expecting him, and we'll see you there tomorrow. For now, peace out.