There won’t be much need to wait for the Patriots to announce their inactives on Sunday.
The team ruled out seven players on Friday, which means, barring a roster move, that they know the 46 men who will take the field for them on Sunday against the Rams. As previously reported, the team left tight end Aaron Hernandez in Boston and, obviously, he’s one of the players listed as out. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Hernandez’s ankle has not responded to treatment and he’s having trouble cutting as a result.
One spot where the Patriots will be very thin on Sunday is defensive back. Safeties Patrick Chung and Steve Gregory have each been ruled out of the contest, leaving rookies Tavon Wilson and Nate Ebner to play alongside Devin McCourty at the position. Cornerback Ras-I Dowling will also miss the game, along with running back Brandon Bolden, linebacker Tracy White and defensive end Trevor Scott.
The Patriots also listed 11 players as questionable, including tight end RoB Gronkowski, linebacker Dont’a Hightower and guard Logan Mankins. Mankins missed last week’s game against the Jets. Wide receivers Julian Edelman, Brandon Lloyd and Wes Welker are all also given a 50/50 shot of playing this week. The Patriots always list a lot of questionable players who wind up playing, so there’s a pretty good chance all of them will be in the lineup.