Patriots notebook: Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu questionable for Sunday’s game
Five other players are also questionable.
FOXBOROUGH — Wide receivers Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu are among the seven questionable Patriots for Sunday’s game against the Bengals at Cincinnati.
Edelman (knee/shoulder) again was limited in practice Friday. He was limited Thursday and missed practice Wednesday. Since Edelman first popped up on the injury report to start Week 4, Week 11 has been his only stretch of practice with full participation. He was not available for his usual session with reporters Friday.
Sanu recently has been another regular name on the injury report as he continues to nurse an ankle injury that sidelined him in Week 12. Like Edelman, Sanu was listed as questionable in both Week 13 and 14, but ultimately played.
Others also questionable for Sunday are linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley (knee), defensive lineman Byron Cowart (concussion), center Ted Karras (knee), cornerback Jason McCourty (groin), and defensive lineman Danny Shelton (shoulder).
Karras, who missed all of practice last week, is looking to make his return to the field after getting hurt in Week 13. If he can’t go, backup James Ferentz will again get the start.
Snaps going down
Rookie wide receiver N’Keal Harry said his inconsistent snap counts haven’t affected his ability to get comfortable in New England’s offense.
“The way I look at it, when I get on that field, no matter if it’s 50 snaps or one snap, whenever my name is called, I have to be able to contribute,’’ Harry said Friday.
In his regular-season debut, in Week 11, Harry was on the field for 43 percent of the team’s offensive snaps. That proportion spiked to 81 percent in Week 12 against the Cowboys, when Harry caught his first touchdown pass, but has since gotten smaller and smaller. Harry was on the field for 22 offensive snaps (26 percent) in Week 13 and only two (3 percent) in Week 14. The limited playing time doesn’t seem to bother him, though.
Harry said he was encouraged by the play last week that should have been ruled a touchdown, one where he caught a short pass from Tom Bradyand broke multiple tackles before diving into the end zone. The 21-year-old noted it reminded him of what he did in college.
“Just getting the ball in my hand and being able to run with it, that definitely helped,’’ he said. “Just seeing that I’m still able to do the same things.’’
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, too, liked what he saw on that play. McDaniels said earlier in the week he needs to do a better job of creating opportunities for Harry.
Just in case
The Patriots signed kicker Josh Gable to their practice squad Wednesday, but Belichick indicated Friday that the starting job belongs to Nick Folk. Belichick said Gable gave the team an extended opportunity to evaluate the trick-shot specialist, as opposed to simply bringing him in for a workout. “Put that in the bank and maybe it comes up later on at some point in time down the road,’’ Belichick said . . . The Patriots haven’t popped up much on the results for the 2020 Pro Bowl, but Belichick doesn’t seem too interested in the voting. “That’s not something I followed,’’ he said . . . With the annual Army-Navy game Saturday afternoon, long snapper Joe Cardona, a Naval Academy grad, shouted, “Go Navy!’’ as he walked through the locker room.
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