New England Patriots wide receiver Aaron Dobson (17) evades a tackle from Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones (24) in the second half of the game at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 13-6. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
New England Patriots starting “X” wide receiver Aaron Dobson aggravated a foot sprain in the team’s Week 17 win over the Buffalo Bills, and it has made him very questionable for this week’s Divisional Round playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts. Dobson was unable to practice yesterday, and he was the Patriots only absence from yesterday’s practice as both Alfonzo Dennard and star left guard Logan Mankins were able to return.
According to the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe, Dobson was once again not at practicing today, and it looks like he won’t be playing against the Colts. Once Austin Collie was signed, it looked like Dobson was unlikely to play, and his chances only became slimmer when he missed practice yesterday. Now that is he out today, it looks like Dobson is highly unlikely to play on Saturday, especially since tomorrow is the final practice session of the week.
With Josh Boyce also out, Kenbrell Thompkins will most likely receive all of the Patriots snaps as the “X” receiver”, and both Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola will likely rotate in and out of the slot to take snaps as the “Z”. It will be interesting to see how many snaps Collie picks up for the Patriots against his old team, but I’m only expecting a couple of targets for Collie.
Dobson will most likely be able to play in the AFC Championship game if the Patriots are able to defeat the Colts, and he comes into the postseason with four touchdowns and an average of 14 yards per reception; he’s the Patriots biggest downfield playmaker.