The Patriots walked into Week 5 already stretched thin at cornerback, and the injury picture only got worse before kickoff. Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Karon Prunty and Channing Canada were all out, while Charles Woods was questionable with a shoulder injury. That left New England in a spot that was, in every practical sense, desperate.
So the Patriots turned to Kindle Vildor.
Promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster right before the game, Vildor was thrown straight into a major role in New England’s 45-17 win over the Raiders. He played 44 of 60 defensive snaps, finishing second among Patriots cornerbacks behind Marcus Jones. And it wasn’t just volume - Vildor made his presence felt with four tackles, a pass breakup and a forced fumble.
“He gets a PBU, gets a big punch out there, changes the momentum, helps us get the drive stopped,” said head coach Mike Vrabel on Monday.
“I think one of the coaches was talking and said, ‘Well, he had a mental error on the play, but he also had an extra effort.’ And so, I think that really defines what we want our identity to be, the ability to have an error or a mistake, but also the ability to go finish, still impact the play and know that a mental error doesn’t have to necessarily mean that the play is over or a mistake. It certainly doesn’t limit our ability to finish.”
New England’s offense was a different kind of story: a unit that barely came off the field. The Patriots logged 75 snaps and kept their starters in all the way through the final whistle, with Drake Maye and four-fifths of the offensive line playing every snap.
The lone change came at left tackle, where Will Campbell left in the second quarter with a knee injury and is now considered “week to week.” Caleb Lomu stepped in at left tackle for the first time in his NFL career.
The other major offensive injury hit TreVeyon Henderson, who got hurt at the end of an 11-yard run in the second quarter and is expected to miss “multiple weeks” with a high ankle sprain. With Henderson out, Corey Kiner took on a bigger workload and finished with 52 yards and a fumble on six carries.
The Patriots also had to patch together some other roles as the game went on. Efton Chism filled the spot normally held by Mack Hollins and tied for the team lead with five catches. Tanner Arkin handled the fullback work that would usually belong to Reggie Gilliam.
Defensively, New England leaned on a core group and then dug deeper into the roster as the game opened up. Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss, Marcus Jones, Craig Woodson and Kevin Byard III all played 50 snaps.
Vildor became a major part of the cornerback rotation, while Woods played 36 snaps. Jaylen Reed and Mike Brown were also involved heavily, with Reed spending time as a nickel back in the effort to contain Raiders tight end Brock Bowers.
Up front, the Patriots kept leaning on the young edge group of Gabe Jacas and Elijah Ponder. Dre’Mont Jones was in the mix as well, though he left early in the fourth quarter and did not return. In the middle, Leonard Taylor made the most of limited work, posting a sack in his 11 snaps.
The lopsided score also created room for deeper reserves to get meaningful run. Darius Muasau, Namdi Obiazor and Erick Hunter all saw extended time at linebacker, while Brenden Schooler and Elliott Davison were among the safeties to get late-game snaps.
Special teams brought another notable development: Schooler was back after opening the season on the non-football injury list, and he immediately slid back into his usual role. He played on all four punt and kickoff units, including as a gunner on punt coverage. Erick Hunter continued to handle gunner work as well.
Cameron Latu, Namdi Obiazor, Mike Brown and Elliott Davison rounded out the Patriots’ core special teams group, while K.J. Britt effectively filled Reggie Gilliam’s kicking-game role after being elevated from the practice squad.
Tommy DeVito did not play, and despite the 28-point margin, Vrabel did not pull Maye from the game. That leaves Maye’s season-long snap total at 12, all of them coming in the Week 3 loss in Jacksonville.
The inactive list included the four cornerbacks already unavailable - Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Prunty and Canada - along with two healthy scratches: Behren Morton and Dametrious Crownover.
In Other News...
Patriots Offensive Line Is Giving Drake Maye A Reason For Concern
Former Patriots lineman Matt Light has had a familiar view of New Englands offensive front, and he did not dismiss the criticism that has followed the group early in the season. The line has been forced to work through injuries, with left tackle Will Campbell and right guard Mike Onwenu both affected, and the biggest issues have shown up in the run game. Even so, Light noted the unit still has enough talent to keep Drake Maye upright long enough for the offense to function.
Josh McDaniels has helped mask some of those problems with a scheme that keeps the attack moving, but the concern is how much strain the line can continue to absorb. The Patriots need stability up front not just for Mayes comfort in the pocket, but for an offense that has been able to stay productive without looking fully settled. With the middle of the line banged up and the blocking not yet consistent, the next stretch will say a lot about how real the improvement is. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots May Have One Deadline Fix For A Growing Pass Rush Problem
The Patriots pass rush has become a more urgent conversation as the trade deadline approaches, especially with the group still waiting on a clearer answer from Harold Landry. New England has some younger options worth watching, including Gabe Jacas and Elijah Ponder, but the idea of leaning on development alone is harder to sell when the need is immediate and the season is already taking shape.
That is why the teams search could extend beyond its own depth chart and into the veteran market, where a proven edge presence would make sense for a defense trying to keep pressure off the back end. The timing is delicate, though, because the longer Landry remains unavailable, the more this looks like a problem the Patriots may need to solve before the deadline rather than hope will fix itself later. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Get Encouraging Will Campbell News At A Crucial Time
Will Campbells knee injury could have put the Patriots in a far tougher spot, but the early signs have been more encouraging than the on-field reaction suggested. The rookie left tackle left Sundays game looking like a player who might be headed for a lengthy absence, only for the team to learn it was a knee sprain rather than something more serious, and he was back on the practice field in a limited role by Wednesday.
For New England, the timing matters as much as the diagnosis. The Patriots do have other options if Campbell cant go in the next stretch, but his availability still hangs over a position that can quickly affect everything else on offense. Campbell has sounded upbeat about where things stand, yet his status for upcoming games remains unsettled, which leaves the team waiting on one of its more important young pieces. [Read more 🡒]