The Patriots on Monday placed wide receiver Romeo Doubs on injured reserve.
Doubs will be sidelined for at least four games, including Thursday night against the Bears in Chicago. He also will miss the Nov. 1 game against the Dolphins; the Nov. 8 game against the Packers, the team that drafted him in the fourth round in 2022; and the Nov. 15 game against the Lions in Munich.
Doubs left Sunday’s win over the Jets after hauling in a touchdown pass in the first quarter. He had to reach to make the catch and ended up landing hard on his right shoulder. Doubs was able to maintain possession, but he remained on the turf as his teammates came over to celebrate.
“I tried to give him a ball to catch,” quarterback Drake Maye said after the game. “I hate — I could’ve put it more on him and not have him dive, and then he goes down. Those are things that I care about, that I’m mad at, but it’s football.”
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When Doubs didn’t get up, his teammates waved over the medical staff. Doubs then visited the medical tent on the sideline before heading to the locker room. The Patriots initially listed him as questionable to return with a shoulder injury, before downgrading him to out.
Losing Doubs is another blow to New England’s passing attack, which just welcomed back star wide receiver A.J. Brown. Through six games, Doubs is the team’s leader in receiving yards (261).
Doubs, who signed a four-year, $68 million contract, had a slow start to the season, most notably because of a critical drop in Week 1. But he and Maye had started to build some chemistry, as shown by his two-touchdown performance in Week 4 in Buffalo.
The Patriots have Brown, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism, and Kyle Williams as the active wide receivers on their 53-man roster. Chandler Brayboy, Kyle Dixon, Cameron Dorner, and Ryan Miller are on the practice squad.
Veteran wide receiver Mack Hollins is also on injured reserve and must miss at least two more games before becoming eligible to return to practice.