Gronkowski out of action
Sits along with Michel, Mason
FOXBORO — The Patriots are in need of a bye week.
Two of the team’s most important offensive players, tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back Sony Michel, were inactive for last night’s win against Green Bay.
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
Gronkowski has battled through ankle and back injuries in recent weeks. He’s been listed on the injury report since Week 5 and has sat out of two of the past three games.
The superstar tight end, who hasn’t scored a touchdown since the season opener, clearly was frustrated during Wednesday’s press conference at questions about his lack of production.
“I’m not really sure. Yeah, everything. Everything you said,” Gronkowski said when asked the reasons for his touchdown drought. “I don’t know what to say.”
On a follow-up question about his confidence level, Gronkowski simply said, “It’s good.”
Gronkowski entered Week 9 ranking fifth among NFL tight ends with 448 receiving yards, trailing Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz, San Francisco’s George Kittle and Oakland’s Jared Cook.
Like Gronkowski, Michel has dealt with multiple injuries this season.
The rookie tailback missed the entire preseason because of a knee injury, and then he went down in Week 7 with another knee injury.
He dodged a bullet, though, missing only three practices. He participated in a limited capacity all week but wasn’t ready to play.
Without Michel, the Patriots relied heavily on James
White, who is in the midst of a career season. White entered Week 9 on pace for 110 receptions, more than 1,300 yards from scrimmage and 16 touchdowns.
White’s role has grown each year, and he’s one of the team’s most valuable players on either side of the ball. He had 31 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries last night, along with six catches for 72 yards..
The Pats were without a third offensive starter against Green Bay, as right guard Shaq Mason sat out because of a calf injury. He did not practice this week. Third-year pro Ted Karras took Mason’s place on the offensive line.
Tackle Marcus Cannon returned from a two-game absence. He didn’t play against the Bears or Bills because of a concussion.
Others inactive for the Patriots: tight end Jacob Hollister (hamstring), offensive lineman Brian Schwenke
(foot), linebacker Nicholas
Grigsby (illness), and offensive lineman Cole Croston (healthy scratch).
Rumor mill
The first head coach firing of the 2018 season occurred just before the midway point of the year.
And here’s a shocker: Josh
McDaniels has been mentioned as a candidate for the Cleveland Browns job. Defensive coordinator
Gregg Williams is serving as the interim coach following the ouster of Hue Jackson.
McDaniels is “open” to potential head coach openings, according to the NFL Network.
It’s easy to connect the dots between McDaniels and the Browns. He grew up in Canton, Ohio, about an hour south of Cleveland. There also was plenty of buzz around the Patriots and
Baker Mayfield during the NFL draft. As the Patriots search for Brady’s successor, they appeared to do extensive work on Mayfield, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Browns. Mayfield’s agent, Jack
Mills, mentioned the Patriots during an interview on
Andrew Brandt’s “The Business of Sports” podcast in May.
“We knew the Jets at No. 3 was the bottom line,” Mills said. “We had another team ... the Patriots. They had (No.) 23 and they had (No.) 31, and they had two seconds, and I don’t know. We thought boy, that’s going to be a heck of a move to (No. 2 overall) from where they are. And of course, he wasn’t available, so we never knew if that was a reality or not.”
McDaniels spurned the Colts in February. While it’s widely assumed he will succeed Bill Belichick as Pats head coach, the Cleveland job could entice him.
Champs in house
The world champion Red Sox made an appearance on the Gillette Stadium field before kickoff, arriving through the tunnel on a duck boat.
Five members of the Sox hoisted the championship trophy in front of a raucous crowd. Ryan Brasier, Joe Kelly, Brock Holt, J.D. Martinez and World Series MVP Steve Pearce were on hand.