The New England Patriots have placed wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell on injured reserve, meaning they’ve lost two wideouts for the year already.
The regular season hasn’t even started for the New England Patriots, but Tom Brady has already lost two targets for the entirety of 2017. Weeks after the Patriots lost star wide receiver Julian Edelman to injury in the preseason, Ian Rapoport has the news that Malcolm Mitchell, a promising second-year wide receiver, has also been placed on injured reserve.
Source: The #Patriots are placing WR Malcolm Mitchell on Injured Reserve.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 7, 2017
Mitchell was a nice find in the middle rounds of last year’s NFL Draft and he had 32 catches for 401 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. Those are solid numbers for a player who had to fight for so many targets among other players like Chris Hogan, Danny Amendola and Edelman along with tight ends like Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett. Gronk was out for much of the year, which opened things up a bit, but Mitchell was expected to help in the wake of Edelman’s absence. Now he’s a part of the problem.
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The good news is that Bill Belichick didn’t just reload but overcompensated with changes at the skill positions this offseason. Brandin Cooks is the new deep threat. Phillip Dorsett is yet another. Hogan and Amendola also remain in place next to Gronk and new tight end Dwayne Allen. The Pats also have a loaded backfield with potential pass catchers like James White, Mike Gilleslee and Rex Burkhead.
The Chiefs will be the first team to see exactly how the Patriots plan to move forward in the wake of such injuries. Tom Brady is experienced enough to adjust with the personnel around him and there’s plenty of talent still to be found on the Patriots offense.