Danny Amendola has Sprained Knee, Could Play Next Week

By Dan Schmelzer | Nov 24, 2015

An MRI revealed only a sprained knee for Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola, who has become an important part of the offense with recent injuries.

Alright everyone, it is now safe to exhale, as Patriots’ wide receiver Danny Amendola‘s MRI has come back clean. Amendola missed most of the second half of Monday night’s game against the Buffalo Bills with an apparent knee injury. But according to Tom Curran of CSNNE, the MRI only revealed a sprain, and Amendola is not expected to miss an extended period of time.

After losing Dion Lewis and Julian Edelman in consecutive weeks, the Patriots’ arsenal was beginning to look bare. When it comes to the short passing game, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the best QB in the league (possibly of all-time). However, Lewis and Edelman were Brady’s two primary targets in the short passing game, and their losses were always going to be tough to overcome.

That being said, in the case of Edelman, the Patriots had a near-perfect replacement in Amendola. They have different strengths and weaknesses, but Edelman and Amendola are similar kinds of players, and the Patriots knew that Amendola could step in and perform at a high level as Edelman’s replacement in the slot.

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He proved them right immediately, and made many huge plays down the stretch for the Patriots after Edelman went down a week ago against the New York Giants. Amendola finished with 79 yards on 10 receptions, and seemed to always be open when Brady needed him the most.

Edelman was diagnosed with a broken foot after the Giants’ game, but Amendola helped them forget about their loss with another great performance this week. He finished with 117 yards on nine receptions, and that was with missing most of the second half. Once again, Amendola seemed to always make a play when the Patriots needed him the most. He steps up and gets open with regularity on third down.

Losing Amendola would have been a crushing blow for the Patriots, as there is not another ready-made replacement on the roster. Luckily, they dodged a bullet, and he will not miss much time going forward. In fact, Amendola suiting up this week against the Denver Broncos sure seems like a possibility. Here is what Curran had to say on Amendola’s availability in the upcoming game:

"“His availability for the game Sunday in Denver will be determined by how he responds to treatment and an increase in work load as the week progresses,” Curran reported. “He’s not expected to miss an extended period of time.”"

Obviously the Patriots would love to have him on the field on Sunday against the Broncos, but the fact that he has escaped this hiccup without major injury is enough to be happy about.

Next: Three Stars for Patriots in Week 11 vs. Bills

Amendola has become a major part of the Patriots’ offense, and they need him to be healthy going forward. We will learn more about his availability against the Broncos throughout the week, but for now, let’s just be excited that a scary injury went the right way for the Patriots. Recently, that has not been the case.

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