Patriots offense officially down 3 key players against Jets

The New England Patriots' offense will be short-handed on a short week. Ahead of their Thursday Night Football matchup with the New York Jets the Patriots ruled out four players, including three key players on offense.

Running back Rhamondre Stevenson (toe), wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (hamstring), and tight end Austin Hooper (concussion) have all been ruled out for Thursday. Linebacker Christian Elliss (hip) has been ruled out as well.

This will be the third game in a row the Patriots will be without Stevenson. However, the injury issues run deeper than him. Terrell Jennings (knee) was also limited all week after leaving Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers early, and is questionable for this game.

If Jennings can go the Patriots can active a running back - likely D'Ernest Johnson - from the practice squad and still have three players dressed at the position with rookie TreVeyon Henderson being removed from the injury report entirely.

However if Jennings can't go that would further complicate things. The Patriots could elevate two running backs, but they may also need a tight end with Hooper out. Fullback Jack Westover is a converted tight end that can contribute at the position, but has been more involved in that fullback role since midway through training camp. The Patriots do have one practice squad tight end they can elevate in rookie CJ Dippre.

With Elliss out the team could also feel the need to add a linebacker/special teams depth, but that could also be done by having recent signing Caleb Murphy active like he was last week. Murphy played on three of the Patriots' core four special teams units against Tampa. However, practice squad elevation Darius Harris played on all four units. Practice squad elevations for Thursday Night Football games happen during the day on Thursday, usually early afternoon.

At receiver the Patriots have enough depth to get by without Boutte, it's just a matter of who steps up. Last week rookie Kyle Williams played a season-high 55.7% of the offensive snaps, after not breaking 28.6% before Boutte got hurt. Mack Hollins was also more involved in the offense.

Also included on the Patriots' injury report is rookie defensive tackle Joshua Farmer (ankle), who is questionable. He was listed as a non-participant Tuesday and Wednesday after being limited on Monday.

For the Jets, wide receiver Garrett Wilson (knee) was officially ruled out, which was expected based on reports earlier this week. The Jets also ruled out cornerback Azareye'h Thomas (concussion), who had been playing a significantly bigger role since the team traded Sauce Gardner at the deadline.

Five players are also questionable for the Jets. That includes defensive tackle Harrison Phillips (foot) and edge rusher Will McDonald IV (quad).