The Patriots will open the season Wednesday night without TreVeyon Henderson, who has been ruled out for the matchup with the Seahawks because of an ankle injury.
Henderson did not practice Tuesday and also sat out New England’s two previous sessions. The second-year running back first picked up the injury in practice on Aug. 24 and has been sidelined for just under three weeks. New England also ruled out backup center Ben Brown, who was already listed as out Monday and did not travel with the team.
Brown’s knee injury came in the preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 13, when a Colts defender tackled quarterback Tommy DeVito into Brown’s leg. Mike Vrabel said on Aug. 15 that Brown would be out for a while, saying, “Ben is going to be a few weeks,” head coach Mike Vrabel said on Aug. 15, following the game.
“Four-to-six, eight, 10, 12 [weeks]. Even numbers.
But it will probably be extensive throughout the rest of the preseason for sure.”
With Brown unavailable, Greg Van Roten is next up on the interior. The summer addition has 105 career starts.
New England’s only full participant was defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who has now stacked back-to-back full practices while dealing with a knee issue. He had been listed as a non-participant on Sunday. Last season, Barmore totaled 29 tackles, 11 quarterback hits and two sacks in a career-high 16 games.
Seattle had three limited participants: wide receiver and kick returner Tory Horton, offensive tackle Josh Jones and safety Nick Emmanwori. Horton is questionable with a hamstring injury, Jones carries no game status after dealing with a knee issue, and Emmanwori is also questionable after being limited all week.
The 2025 second-round pick started the summer on the physically unable to perform list and had ankle surgery before training camp. He is a finalist for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
The Seahawks’ full participants were running back Emanuel Wilson, tight end A.J. Barner, guard Anthony Bradford and cornerback Julian Neal. Safety Ty Okada was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
The game is set for 8:20 p.m. ET at Lumen Field.
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