Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson ruled out
New England Patriots wide receiver Aaron Dobson (17) runs out of bounds during the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Patriots 24-20. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
The New England Patriots will be without rookie “X” wide receivers Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins for a second straight week, as Dobson is still suffering from a foot sprain and Thompkins is dealing with a hip injury. It looked like Thompkins was going to play this week after practicing everyday, but the Patriots have decided that he isn’t ready. Dobson, on the other hand, wasn’t expected to play this week, as he only put in a limited practice on Friday and is dealing with a tricky sprain.
Yesterday, ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss projected both Thompkins and Dobson as inactives, and it was very interesting to see him select Thompkins as a projected inactive. But, as usual, Reiss was right on point, and he reported later on that the Patriots downgraded both wideouts from questionable to out for today’s game against the Dolphins.
It will be interesting to see who ace Dolphins CB Brent Grimes spends his time covering, and TCU rookie Josh Boyce will be the Patriots starting “X” receiver today for the second straight week. The speedy wideout is a polished route-runner who can do many different things for an offense, but he seemed to have a tougher time catching on than the other two receivers did. But Boyce came on strong last week in his first action as a starter, and we’ll see if he’s up to the task today.