22-year old TE Rob Gronkowski has a high ankle sprain and he wouldn’t be playing this Sunday if it wasn’t the Super Bowl.  That being said, the Patriots would have a hard time winning without him.  He played in 16 games for the Patriots this year and he caught 90 passes for 1,327  yards (14.7 avg) with an amazing 17 TD grabs.  He has also caught 15 passes for 232 yards (15.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs in the Patriots two playoff games so far this year.  If for some reason Gronkowski can’t go this Sunday, the Patriots will likely have a secret weapon up their sleeve like Chad Ocho Cinco or Matthew Slater.

The Patriots have lost 32-year old starting DE Andre Carter for the rest of the 2011 season due to a quad injury.  Carter played in 14 games for the Patriots this year and he had 52 tackles, 10 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 pass defensed and 5 tackles for a loss.  He has now played in 163 games in his first 11 years in the NFL and he has 494 tackles, 76 sacks, 17 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 23 passes defensed and 47 tackles for a loss.  This is a HUGE loss for the Patriots going forward as Carter was their best pass rusher.

The New England Patriots have placed 23-year old OLB Jermaine Cunningham on the Injured Reserve List due to a hamstring injury.  Cunningham played in 9 games for the Patriots this year and he had 1 whole tackle.  Cunningham has now played in 24 games in his first 2 years with the Patriots and he has 35 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles and 1 pass defensed.  The Patriots hope that Cunningham will get back on the right track for them in 2012.

The Patriots have lost 24-year old rookie LB Jeff Tarpinian for the rest of the year due to a head injury.  Tarpinian played in 7 games for the Patriots this year and he had 7 tackles.  This is going to be a bigger loss to the special teams than the defense for the Patriots.  Truth be told though, the Patriots can afford to lose anymore players on defense.

The Patriots have placed 26-year old safety Josh Barrett on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a calf injury.  Barrett played in 5 games for the Patriots this year and he had 17 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  The Patriots will need Sergio Brown to step up the rest of the season.  He has played in 7 games for the Patriots so far this year and he has 22 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed.  The Patriots have brought back linebacker Niko Koutouvides, who was one of their last cuts before the 2011 season started.

The Patriots have placed 29-year old DT Mike Wright on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a concussion.  Wright played in 1 game for the Patriots this year and he had 1 tackle and 1/2 a sack.  He has now played in 81 games in his first seven years with the Patriots and he has 134 tackles, 15 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 3 passes defensed.  This is going to hurt the depth on the D-Line for the Patriots.

The Patriots will be without 25-year old LB Jerod Mayo for the next 4-6 weeks due to a left MCL sprain.  Mayo has played in 4 games for the Patriots so far this year and he has 24 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  25-year old Gary Guyton will replace Mayo in the starting lineup.  Guyton has played in 3 games for the Patriots so far this year and he has 10 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  Mayo is one of he best players on the Patriots’ defense, so expect a dropoff without him…..if that’s even possible due to the way they are playing right now.

Starting strong safety Pat Chung is likely out for this Sunday’s game against the Bills due to thumb surgery.  Chung has played in both of the Patriots’ games so far this year and he has 14 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 sack.  This means that Sergio Brown and Josh Barrett will likely be the starting safeties this weekend.  Brown and Barrett have both played in both of the games for the Patriots so far this year.  Brown has 13 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception and Barrett has 8 tackles.  James Ihedibgo will be the only backup on the roster unless the Patriots sign someone in the next couple of days.  He has played in 2 games for the Patriots this year and he has 2 tackles.  This is a big blow to the back end of the Patriots’ D.

The Patriots have placed 25-year old DT Myron Pryor on the Injured Reserve List due to a severe shoulder injury.  Pryor played in both of the games for the Patriots this year and he had 3 tackles.  He has now played in 24 games in his first three years with the Patriots and he has 35 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 sack and 3 tackles for a loss.  This is going to hurt the Patriots’ depth along the D-Line.

TE Aaron Hernandez has an MCL sprain which will cause him to miss only 1-2 weeks according to the Patriots.  It’s much more likely with that kind of injury, that Hernandez could miss 4-6 weeks.  Hernandez has been excellent for the Patriots so far this year as he has caught 14 passes for 165 yards (11.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs in the team’s first two games.  TE Rob Gronkowski will get more looks now.  He has already caught 10 passes for 172 yards (17.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  This could also open the door for WR Chad Ocho Cinco to get more P.T. going forward.  Chad Ocho Cinco has only caught 3 passes for 59 yards (19.7 avg) in his first two games for the Patriots.