The Patriots are down a cornerback. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that New England has placed Eric Rowe on the injured reserve. The 26-year-old has been battling a groin injury throughout the season.
It’s a tough break for the impending free agent. The 2015 second-round was seemingly coming into his own this season, as he had compiled 10 tackles and one pass defended in four games (two starts). While he didn’t play enough snaps to earn a spot on Pro Football Focus‘ cornerback rankings, his score would have placed him right in the middle of the list.
The move leaves the Patriots relatively thin at cornerback for the time being. Starters Jason McCourty and Stephon Gilmore are both healthy, but the team is rostering three inexperienced cornerbacks behind the duo: Jonathan Jones, J.C. Jackson, and Keion Crossen.
Fortunately for the Patriots, they’ll soon be receiving some reinforcement. As ESPN’s Mike Reiss points out (via Twitter), rookie Duke Dawson is eligible to come off the injured reserve next week. Assuming the 2018 second-rounder is healthy, he could soon find himself as the team’s top reserve cornerback.
Eric Rowe is a walking penalty flag.
So the Pats are thin at CB because the backups are inexperienced, yet all that will change when a ROOKIE comes back? Granted, Dawson’s a good player, but I love how it’s thin due to lack of experience, but it will be made better by the return of a player with….lack of experience