Patriots defense dealt major blow with new injury update
New England Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley is out for the season after suffering a torn pec on Sunday.
The New England Patriots will be without one of their captains and top defensive players for the rest of the year. On Monday night, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley will be out for the season due to a torn pec. Bentley suffered the injury in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, and did not return.
UPDATE: Chris Price of the Boston Globe later reported “it might be premature” to say Ja’Whaun Bentley is out for the season, although he is expected to miss an “extended period of time.”
Bentley, 28, is a key player in the Patriots’ defense who is coming off of three consecutive 100-tackle seasons. Bentley played every single snap in the Patriots’ season opener this year, and led the team with 12 tackles in that game.
When Bentley went out on Sunday, Raekwon McMillan got he majority of snaps in his place. Look for his role to increase going forward. McMillan missed all of last year with a torn Achilles.
Still, replacing Bentley will be more than a one-man job. In addition to McMillan, linebackers Jahlani Tavai, Christian Elliss, and Curtis Jacobs have experience with some of the assignments Bentley handles in the Patriots’ defense. The team also has Sione Takitaki – another off-ball linebacker – on PUP. He’ll be eligible to return for Week 5 at the earliest.
In addition to being a three-down presence in the middle of the Patriots’ defense Bentley also played the role of lead communicator for the unit. He wears the ‘green dot,’ meaning like quarterbacks on offense his helmet has speakers that allow him to receive the play call from the defensive coaching staff and relay it to his teammates.
With Bentley out that ‘green dot’ role is expected to go to safety Kyle Dugger. Dugger handled those responsibilities on Sunday after Bentley went out, and also did so last year when Bentley missed a game due to a hamstring injury.
On top of all of that, Bentley is a team captain and important voice in the locker room. This year, he took over leading the post-win ‘Aw Yeah!’ tradition from longtime captain Matthew Slater.
The Patriots won’t have much time to adjust to life without Ja’Whaun Bentley before their next game. They have a quick turnaround, visiting the Jets for Thursday Night Football in just three days.
