Do you really think the Patriots have any claim to the injury card? Every team has injuries, so as they get players back, so does their competition.
But overall, their injuries are minimal compared to other teams. They’ve been without Trent Brown, who has a long injury history (hence the cheap acquisition) and was never on the list of most critical players of 2021. They’ve been without a few others but no game changers. White was a big loss, but he’s a $2.5M player. He’s a solid guy but not a star…it’s mainly the lack of depth that makes it sting more.
They just played a Saints team missing numerous starters, and their pro bowl LT Armstead went down in the first quarter. The Jets were missing their LT too. The Bucs were missing their CB1, CB2, CB3, and lost their FS1 on the last drive, plus Gronkowski and Bernard.
Who are they going to get get back that’s going to make them a playoff level team?
The Patriots are as healthy as any team in the league. To think they need to have 100% health is unrealistic. As some guys heal up, others will get hurt. But we’re not looking at anything close to a team derailed by significantly bad injury luck.