Monday marked the start of the New England Patriots’ game week preparations, and they already have two important players to watch.

Guard Sidy Sow and left tackle Vederian Lowe are still out with injuries, according to head coach Jerod Mayo’s statement to media. In the preseason finale, Sow had an ankle injury while Lowe sustained a groin injury in late August. Although Sow did not suffer a catastrophic injury, Mayo disclosed last week that his situation is still uncertain.

According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Sow told reporters on Monday that he initially believed he had an Achilles injury but changed his mind when learning it wasn’t serious. As Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald noted, he added that he was “day-to-day” but declined to comment on his status during the first week.

According to Mike Kadlick of CLNS, Lowe attended practice but did not participate much in the press conference. Sow was the only player not present.

Expect official injury reports, Patriots fans, as Week 1 kicks off this Sunday. Despite being a part of an unreliable offensive line, Lowe and Sow would be missed, especially the 2023 fourth-round pick who is one of the few trustworthy choices.

A number of Patriots players switch their jersey numbers before the regular season begins.

The New England Patriots are currently getting ready to play the Cincinnati Bengals in the opening game of the 2024 regular season. Updating their jersey numbers is one step in this procedure for four team members.

Antonio Gibson, the wide receiver, Kayshon Boutte, and Dell Pettus, the safety, Jaylinn Hawkins, will all be sporting new numbers going forward. The Patriots made the announcement of the adjustments on Monday.

The complete list of new jersey numbers, which also includes the numbers that the aforementioned players have previously worn, is as follows:

Fourth: RB Antonio Gibson, who was last in position 21
No. 9: Last in No. 80 is WR Kayshon Boutte.
31st place finisher S Jaylinn Hawkins, at number 21.
S Dell Pettus (last in No. 34) is in No. 24.

Patriots jersey number updates:

Antonio Gibson – 4
Kayshon Boutte – 9
Jaylinn Hawkins – 21
Dell Pettus – 24 pic.twitter.com/TwnXWf4CIB

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 2, 2024

The last player to wear Gibson’s No. 4 was quarterback Bailey Zappe, who was released a month ago. Matthew Judon, an outside linebacker, was the previous owner of Boutte’s new No. 9, which he traded to the Atlanta Falcons last month. Joshuah Bledsoe, another recently released player, gave Pettus his No. 24. Furthermore, Hawkins made the decision to take over the No. 21 spot left empty by Gibson’s update.

Less than a week after starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett made an update of his own, the new jersey numbers were announced. Brissett gave up his No. 14 jersey to wear JuJu Smith-Schuster’s former No. 7.

On Sunday, September 8, the Patriots will take on the Bengals on the road at 1 p.m. ET to kick off the regular season.