Patriots special teamer Nate Ebner suffered a knee injury on a fake punt in Week 12 and has officially been placed on IR, according to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). 
Ebner, 28, is in the midst of his sixth season in New England, but he’s never played a large role on the defensive side of the ball. Although he’s appeared in 82 career games, Ebner has never made a start, as most of his action has come on special teams. In nine games this season, Ebner hadn’t played a single defensive snap, but had seen time on 60% of the Patriots’ special teams plays.
Scheduled to become a free agent at season’s end, Ebner ranked as one of the NFL’s best special teamers in 2016, per Pro Football Focus. As a whole, New England is typically excellent on special teams: they’ve ranked as a top-five unit by DVOA in six of the past seven seasons.