Only the offensive line is of concern. I supect the rest would have been inactive anyway.
To state the obvious, this situation was predictable. Folks get injured. That's why we usually carry 9 OL's, including 4 OT's.
With both Connolly and Wendell having injuries, it is not suprising to see one of them out. If Wendell's injury is serious, we likely will add someone to replace him. That is business as usual. One of the guards (probably Wendell) would have been inactive in any case, so there is no effect on the game.
The situation at OT is simply incomprehensible. We have an injury (could be minor or not) and we are starting a rookie at a new position in this first game, and have no backups at either OT position. That is simply not good decision-making. And all this to keep us from putting Tarp on IR? We had Levoir AND Maneri under contract. If they were unfit, we could have added a veteran.
We have plenty of cap money and we allowed this to happen! That being said, I expect that we will activate Welch from the Practice Squad, and either keep him on the 53, or replace him with a vet after Monday.
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BOTTOM LINE - ONE POSSIBILITY
Belichick has an OT addition that he planned to make after the opening game, in order not to have to pay a guaranteed salary for the season, since Cannon might be ready for the spot after a few weeks. If that's the case, Belichick needed to avoid two injuries for a few practices and one game. If he loses his bet, well unlikely events do happen sometimes.
But the Plan B is still to add an emergency OT for the game, probably Welch.
