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The New England Patriots are falling apart

By Sam Minton

DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 23: Rex Burkhead #34 of the New England Patriots looks for yardage against Christian Jones #52 of the Detroit Lions and Glover Quin #27 during the first half at Ford Field on September 23, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - SEPTEMBER 23: Rex Burkhead #34 of the New England Patriots looks for yardage against Christian Jones #52 of the Detroit Lions and Glover Quin #27 during the first half at Ford Field on September 23, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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The New England Patriots roster seems to get shorter by the day. With Rex Burkhead and Ja’Whaun Bentley headed to Injured Reserve, they will have to dig deep to find replacements.

The New England Patriots can’t seem to stay healthy. It seems like out of nowhere players just magically end up on Injured Reserve. Patriots fans saw this happen again on Tuesday.

Rex Burkhead wasn’t a surprise, but Ja’Whaun Bentley’s designation seemed to come out of nowhere. The only information we have so far is that Bentley didn’t play the last 4 minutes of the game.

Burkhead is a quality back who could have helped the Patriots offense. He can catch balls out of the backfield and also is a back who can explode for big plays.

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With Burkhead out, Sony Michel has a ton of pressure on him. Michel will now be relied on to run the ball a majority of the time. Hopefully, the Patriots use James White more so some of the pressure will be taken off the rookie.

Now even though the Patriots will miss Burkhead, the bigger loss is Bentley. The rookie had a great start to the season. He was a run-stopper who was doing surprisingly well in coverage.

This season Bentley had 8 tackles and an interception. Bentley was far and away the best linebacker that the Patriots had. Even when Dont’a Hightower was on the field, Bentley had the green dot.

It was clear that the Patriots viewed Bentley as a leader. There is no doubt that he leaves a big hole in the Patriots defense.

I have lost all confidence in Dont’a Hightower, and Elandon Roberts and Kyle Van Noy aren’t anything special. You never could have expected how big of a loss a 5th round draft pick would be in his rookie season.

The injury bug has hit the Patriots hard. Especially when it comes to their rookie class. 6 of the Patriots draft picks have ended up on IR.

Next. Josh Gordon showing early signs of impact. dark

In New England, it has always been next man up. Every season we see players that we have never heard of become stars for the Patriots. We will have to wait and see who it will be this season.

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