The Patriots are heading into Week 1 with a major special teams problem, and the latest update on Brenden Schooler is as bad as it gets.
Boston Herald reporter Doug Kyed said during roster cutdowns that the Patriots will place Schooler on NFI/IR, which means the earliest he can return is Week 5. For a player who has been a central piece of New England’s special teams operation, that’s a serious hit before the season even starts.
Schooler has been away from the team all summer because of an undisclosed injury, and the Patriots haven’t offered much detail on his status. The fact that he never got close to practicing made it clear this wasn’t a short-term issue, and now that reality is official.
That absence lands at the worst possible time for New England. The Patriots open in Seattle, then face the Steelers, the Jaguars in Jacksonville, and the Bills in Buffalo. That four-game stretch is already a tough way to start the year, and doing it without Schooler only makes the margin for error even thinner.
The concern isn’t just about losing a player - it’s about losing the guy who’s been the face of the unit. Schooler has repeatedly made the kind of plays that swing field position and flip games back in the Patriots’ favor. Without him, the pressure shifts immediately to the rest of the special teams group.
And if the Patriots don’t think their current options can hold up, they may have to keep working the waiver wire and the free-agent market after the roster is set. It’s the kind of move they’d need to make if they want the special teams unit to stay on solid footing while Schooler is out, even if nobody available can truly match what he brings.
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