Normally, there would be reason for alarm when names like Rhamondre Stevenson and David Andrews appear on the New England Patriots injury report.
But not for two of New England’s offense’s main components this time.
Despite the early season, Stevenson and Andrews were granted non-injury related maintenance days on Wednesday. This was in advance of the Patriots’ first injury report being made public ahead of Gillette Stadium on Sunday for the team’s Week 2 battle against the Seattle Seahawks. There weren’t many people there for the practice session.
While Andrews played all of the team’s offensive snaps, Stevenson ran the ball 25 times for 120 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots’ season-opening victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Patriots obviously want to keep Stevenson and Andrews as fresh as possible because their offense is built around the run game.
Sidy Sow, the left guard, was the lone Patriots player who did not practice on Wednesday. Sow was out for the Bengals game due to an ankle ailment.
This is the complete injury report for the Patriots:
DID NOT TAKE PART IN
Sidy Sow Ankle
LIMITED INVOLVEMENT
C David Andrews, Unrelated to Injury / Rest RB Jabrill Peppers, Hip RB; Antonio Gibson, Hip LB; Anfernee Jennings, Wrist / Knee T; Vederian Lowe, Abdomen S Rhamondre Stevenson, Rest LB / Not Injury Related Joshua Uche, Shoulder DE Deatrich Wise Jr.
Starting running back Kenneth Walker III was conspicuously absent from practice on Wednesday due to an oblique ailment. Walker was one of four players for the Seahawks who skipped practice.
This is the Seahawks’ complete injury report:
DID NOT TAKE PART in
RB Kenneth Walker III, Knee LB Tyrel Dodson, Oblique T George Fant, Knee LB Uchenna Nwosu, Shoulder
LIMITED PARTICIPATION:
LB Jerome Baker, Hamstring LB De’Mont Jones, Hamstring CB Riq Woolen, Hamstring CB Tre Brown, Quadricep, Thigh TE Noah Fant, Toe TE Pharaoh Brown, and Foot WR Tyler Lockett
For the first time since 2019, the Patriots hope to begin a season 2-0. The Patriots and Seahawks are expected to kick off at 1 p.m. ET.
Robert Kraft was furious over his rival’s admittance into the Hall of Fame.
Owner of the New England Patriots Robert Kraft is still not inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is said to find that fact quite annoying, especially in light of the recent inductees.
According to a recent ESPN story on Kraft, Don Van Natta Jr. and Kraft’s supporters reacted negatively to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ 2017 Hall of Fame induction. According to reports, Kraft believed that he should have been inducted before Jones because of the Patriots’ success and his significance in helping to turn the NFL into a multibillion dollar business.
After Jones was inducted, Kraft’s inner circle reportedly reacted with “anger and confusion,” citing the Patriots’ superior recent performance over the Cowboys. Kraft viewed Jones’ induction as a “insult” and continues to see things from the outside.
In reaction to the perceived slight, Kraft allegedly went so far as to privately criticize the Cowboys’ lack of on-field success.
“He gets into the NFC title game, even though he hasn’t attended in 20 years?” Kraft stated in private. “How does that operate?”
The unfriendliness between Kraft and Jones is hardly new. According to reports, the two got into a furious argument during an owners’ meeting two years ago, and Jones practically acknowledged it in the media.
Although Kraft has witnessed six Super Bowl victories as the organization’s owner, the Spygate and Deflategate scandals may damage his chances of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Nor has a personal controversy off the field aided his cause.
