Every team remains over .500 in the AFC East again this week, something only the NFC East can boast as well. Even with the outcomes of each AFC East game, each team will remain over .500 heading into Week 12, an impressive feat considering how late in the season it is.
The New England Patriots and New York Jets square off Sunday with both teams dealing with several injuries, but the lack of season-ending injuries lately has allowed them to remain competitive. It is impressive that the Jets continue to stay in the thick of things despite having lost several players earlier in the year.
The Miami Dolphins are on bye while the Buffalo Bills have to fly out to Detroit to play the Cleveland Browns due to the heavy lake-effect snowstorm pummeling the area.
Below are the detailed injury reports for each AFC East team heading into Week 11.
Note: With the AFC East injury reports, not every injury on the report will have a detailed analysis. While I do want to highlight every injury, some don’t have any context. For those that do have context, there will be as much medical analysis as I can provide.
New England Patriots | New York Jets | Buffalo Bills | Miami Dolphins
NEW YORK JETS
OUT
WR Corey Davis (MCL Sprain)
Davis continues to work back from an MCL sprain, side not specified in Week 7, missing now the last three games plus the bye.
It’s reasonable that he could begin practicing next week but even then, he may still not be fully healthy. Based on the timeline, he appeared to suffer a Grade 2 MCL sprain.
DT Sheldon Rankins (Left dislocated elbow)
Rankins suffered a left dislocated elbow in the win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 9 that was expected to have him miss some time. According to reports, he is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks.
Depending on positional demands, some players can return quickly from these injuries while others need a longer duration. In Rankins’s case, having to block and tackle nearly every play places a lot of stress on an already unstable joint. Even with a brace, he would be at a high likelihood to dislocate again.
DOUBTFUL
TE Kenny Yeboah (Calf)
Yeboah was a late addition to the injury report with a calf designation on Friday, making him doubtful for the game.
QUESTIONABLE
OL Nate Herbig (Shin)
Herbig is officially questionable with a shin injury which is likely a contusion. Head coach Robert Saleh has already noted that they expect Herbig to play Sunday.
ACTIVE
OT Duane Brown (Left shoulder)
Brown continues to be on the injury report with a left shoulder that is a rotator cuff tear suffered shortly after signing with the team in September, sending him to IR. He has not missed a snap since returning from his stint on IR and while he is affected by it, his play doesn’t show it.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
DOUBTFUL
P Jake Bailey (Back)
Bailey is officially doubtful after dealing with a back injury after coming off the bye. He was limited Wednesday and Thursday before not practicing on Friday. While the specifics of the injury are not clear, doubtful players rarely play, giving P Michael Palardy a chance to play.
QUESTIONABLE
LB Anfernee Jennings (Back)
Jennings appears on the injury report with a back designation after the bye, limited all week. With little information other than the designation, it is nearly impossible to identify whether he plays Sunday.
WR DeVante Parker (Right MCL sprain)
Parker has been working through a right MCL sprain suffered against the Jets in Week 8, missing the following game and then having the bye to recover. He was limited in practice all week and is officially questionable for the game. This may come down to how effective he is in pushing off his right leg in cutting and jumping.
LB Josh Uche (Hamstring)
Uche has been working through a hamstring injury suffered prior to Week 6 in practice. He missed Week’s 7 and 8 before returning but this injury still doesn’t appear to be fully resolved yet.
ACTIVE
DL Demarcus Mitchell (Illness)
Mitchell does not have a game designation following an illness on Wednesday that forced him from practice and was limited Thursday.
CB Jonathan Jones (Illness)
Jones missed Thursday’s practice with an illness but has no designation heading into Sunday.
S Kyle Dugger (Right ankle)
Dugger appears to still be working through a right ankle injury originally suffered in Week 7 against the Chicago Bears. He missed the following week before returning in Week 9, appearing in 69 percent of defensive snaps.
INJURED RESERVE
DL Christian Barmore (Knee)
Barmore went to injured reserve Friday after having limited practices Wednesday and Thursday before not practicing on Friday. The exact details of the injury have never been clear, but he has been dealing with this injury since Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns.
Spending the next four weeks on injured reserve will allow him to get right if the Patriots are still in the playoff hunt at the end of December.
RB Ty Montgomery (Shoulder surgery)
Montgomery was a surprise on Wednesday by the reports that he would miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. He was originally on injured reserve for a knee injury after Week 1. The team did hint at an upper-body injury last week but the exact details regarding the surgery remain murky.
BUFFALO BILLS
OUT
LB Tremaine Edmunds (Groin/heel)
Edmunds is set to miss this game against the Cleveland Browns due to an aggravation of his groin late in the second quarter last week. He was questionable heading into the game and I did not believe that he would suit up.
However, the team elected to play anyone that was able, and Edmunds proved his worth until he was forced to exit.
DE Greg Rousseau (Left high-ankle sprain)
Rousseau is set to miss his second consecutive game due to a left high-ankle sprain suffered in the Week 9 game against the New York Jets.
I don’t expect him to be ready for Thursday’s game against the Detroit Lions either but has a shot at playing against the New England Patriots in Week 13. To fill in any potential depth issues, the team signed former Bills and Chicago Bears DE Kingsley Jonathan to the practice squad. If you recall, Jonathan was with the team in training camp until the roster cutdowns.
CB Tre’Davious White (Left ACL)
White has been ruled out yet again, drawing the ire of the fan base. There may be a mental component that I detailed in my previous article.
QUESTIONABLE
S Jordan Poyer (Left elbow)
Poyer was able to return to practice this week, practicing in a limited ability Wednesday and Thursday before being estimated as a full participant Friday.
He missed the last two games after injuring his left elbow against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8. Based on what we’re seeing and how much time he has missed, I suspect he is dealing with a more significant injury that he is attempting to play through. I also expect that we will know a lot more after the season or if he re-injures the elbow.
He knows he has a contract on the line and a potential Super Bowl as well which is why he’s playing. If he does play, I still suspect that he will have trouble with hand-fighting and wrapping up his tackle on the left side. However, his presence and ability to pick the right angles to disrupt plays may make him valuable in his return.
CB Kaiir Elam (Left ankle)
Elam is questionable despite practicing in full Thursday but was unable to practice on Friday due to it being canceled. Had they practiced, he would have been a full participant, but his status may come down to how the ankle feels during warmups. He may be dealing with a minor bone bruise or aggravated low ankle sprain.
FB Reggie Gilliam (Illness)
Gilliam is officially questionable after dealing with an illness all week. Head coach Sean McDermott expected all the guys that were ill during the week to play.
ACTIVE
QB Josh Allen (Right elbow)
Allen was limited all week, not throwing during the media portion of practice. All throughout the week, little details about the severity of the elbow injury came out, further supporting that the team took a calculated risk in playing him.
Even though he has no gameday designation, I am still concerned about whether he gets his arm hit again. He has noted that he needs to limit his work during the week and take a little off his throws during the game.
Do not confuse the lack of a designation for full health. I expect him to keep the short to the intermediate game and stay in shotgun to provide extra protection. I don’t expect him to be fully healthy until mid-December.
G Rodger Saffold (Vet rest/shoulder)
Saffold had a regular veteran rest day on top of having a shoulder designation on Wednesday before practicing in full the rest of the week. While this is common to see him get a veteran rest day, he did have a back designation last week before playing in 100 percent of snaps.
Based on the snap count, it’s difficult to speculate when he would have injured the shoulder. But there is a mild concern for the issue that he dealt with last year when he was with the Titans. However, unless we get more information or this lingers, we can’t assume anything.
DT Tim Settle, LB Matt Milano, DT Jordan Phillips (Illness) CB Cam Lewis (Right forearm/illness)
All the players listed above missed Wednesday’s practice with a non-COVID illness. Lewis is part of this group and continues to be listed on the injury report with a chronic bone infection dating back to college.
INJURED RESERVE
WR Jake Kumerow (Left ankle)
Kumerow went to IR on Thursday following the signing of LB AJ Klein, recently with the Chicago Bears. He did miss three weeks earlier in the year dealing with a left high-ankle sprain suffered against the Miami Dolphins.
The video wasn’t clear as to whether he was rolled up on or just hit, but the ankle is bad enough that he needs a month off.
MIAMI DOLPHINS
The Miami Dolphins are on bye this week.
Top Photo Credit: The Phinsider
