One week after being deactivated, Patriots linebacker Adalius Thomas is expected to get the start against the Buccaneers in London on Sunday afternoon.
Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston tweeted a short time ago that we should expect to see Thomas on the field with the first-team defense. We won’t be seeing wide receiver Julian Edelman or running backs Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor at all, since all three of them are inactive for Sunday’s game. Tackle Matt Light is also inactive, which means Sebastian Vollmer will get his second straight start at left tackle.
Rookie wide receiver Brandon Tate is active for his first NFL game. Tate was a third-round pick in April but has been on the non-football injury list after tearing his right ACL and MCL as a North Carolina senior last October. With Edelman out of the lineup, the Patriots are thin at receiver so Tate should see some action.
The Buccaneers will be without kick returner Clifton Smith a week after he suffered a concussion while returning a punt. Rookie defensive end Kyle Moore, who hoped to play his first NFL game this week after recovering from knee surgery, is also inactive.
The rest of the inactives for the Patriots and Bucs are available on NFL.com.
I think Matt Light is very close to losing his job.