Patriots injury report:

Did not participate: RB Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle)

Limited participation: DT Christian Barmore (shoulder), WR Kayshon Boutte (shoulder), OT Trent Brown (ankle/hand), WR Pop Douglas (concussion), WR DeVante Parker (knee), WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (ankle)

Related Players: Ezekiel Elliott

It Looks like it's setting up for another Zeke week, after the veteran handled 100% of the RB workload in Week 14. That kind of usage would make him a very solid RB2, regardless of how close his yards per attempt is to 3.0.

Patriots ruled out for Thursday night's game vs. the Steelers: RB Rhamondre Stevenson, WR Demario Douglas, WR Kayshon Boutte and OL Riley Reiff.

Related Players: Ezekiel Elliott, JaMycal Hasty, DeVante Parker, Tyquan Thornton, JuJu Smith-Schuster

Phew. An offense that needs all the help/luck they can get is dug even deeper with the absence of some key pieces. Ezekiel Elliott should get a huge percentage of the running back work, but even that is likely to keep him in the low RB2 considerations.

Starting any Patriots wide receivers should be a stay-away at this point, though Hunter Henry can be considered a de facto TE streamer with the team rolling out an extreme lack of consistent options.

Jalen Reagor, rookie Demario Douglas and JuJu Smith-Schuster are now the top three on the depth chart, with 2022 second-round pick Tyquan Thornton (a healthy scratch Sunday) and 2023 sixth-rounder Kayshon Boutte (inactive since the season opener) next in line.

The 5-8, 192-pound Douglas is a quick slot receiver whose playing time has spiked the past two weeks (78 of 113 snaps).

It's not a great WR group, but, as they say, someone needs to catch the ball. The story said Reagor has drawn some praise, but we've all been down that road before. If he's on your wire, Douglas could be someone to stash away at this point, especially with his increased playing time recently. The story went on to say Douglas is often sent in motion before the snap, making him a threat as a runner with the possibility of taking a handoff, and has been targeted 13 times the past two weeks.

Follow-up tests Monday revealed that New England Patriots leading receiver Kendrick Bourne tore his right ACL, according to a source.

Related players: DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Demario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte

The injury ends Bourne's seventh season in the NFL, which was on pace to be his best, as he faces a recovery that a source estimates in the six- to eight-month range. Bourne was injured on the first play of the fourth quarter Sunday. It's a big hit to the Pats offense as Bourne had a TD in each of the last two games and before that had a line of 10-89-0 in Week 6.

Multiple team sources believe Smith-Schuster is not presently among the team’s five most effective pass-catchers. According to those same sources, his place in the offense has been complicated by a variety of factors. His knee, flatly, is not 100%. Asked whether Smith-Schuster was healthy enough to finish Sunday’s game, Pats coach Bill Belichick dodged the question in his Wednesday morning press conference.

Related Players: Demario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, Kayshon Boutte

It's been a long time since we've been able to trust a Patriots receiver to deliver consistently, and some thought that maybe Smith-Schuster could finally be that answer. Things aren't looking great right now. Three different options took more slot snaps than the former Chief, including both tight ends, Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki. Smith-Schuster can be safely dropped in most leagues.