Aaron Hernandez out at least into October

[Lake Louise]

Really now: If New England Patriots fans had to choose a geographic pinpoint as the worst spot in the world, wouldn't it be those blasted steps going down to the locker room at Gillette Stadium?

That flight of stairs first gained infamy four years ago this month, when a compromised Tom Brady hobbled down them on the way to an MRI machine. We all know how that ended. On Sunday, CBS cameras were trained on that stairwell again, this time as Aaron Hernandez headed for an examination of his beat-up right ankle.

Luckily for the Patriots, fate was kinder to Hernandez than it was to Brady in 2008. But the high-ankle sprain suffered by the tight end remains a massive concern for the team.

Citing a source, ESPN.com reported Monday that Hernandez will not play in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens. (This is hardly a surprise if you saw Hernandez's lower leg defy the laws of human anatomy against the Arizona Cardinals.) According to the source, Hernandez likely will not return until October at the earliest.

Cardinals safety James Sanders told The Associated Press on Monday that Hernandez's injury "took away a lot of things they are able to do."
"It's unfortunate for them," Sanders said, "but it helped us out."

Now the Patriots must prepare for a stretch of games without the most elastic player on their offense. They have enough weapons to survive, but Josh McDaniels will have to audible on the fly.

This is a blow to the Patriots, but not as bad as it could be. They still have Gronk, who is more than capable of helping out the offense. Just will need the 3rd TE to be more effective in the absence of Hernandez. They can survive until he comes back, because of their other targets. Although, it might be tougher against the Ravens now.

 

[.GR]

damn it. have him in both leagues im in

 

[BlackMamba]

Big loss for the pats, plus ya i have him in one of my leagues but rudolph is a decent backup i guess.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

I have him in both leagues as well.

 

[bosoxlover12]

Aaron's loss is huge, but actually the bigger loss is for Wes Welker.


You would think that with Hernandez out, Welker's role would increase, and it definitely will. But not by so much.


With the success of Stevan Ridley (5th in Y/G, 6th in Y/A per 25 carries, 1st in 1st Downs), the Pats will run the ball, and that means Julian Edelman will be used a lot, since he is a good blocking WR. Edelman and Hernandez are both similarly versatile, and obviously while not running the same formations and to the same extent, Edelman will be in Hernandez's role, not Michael Hoomaniwanui or whatever is name is. So Edelman gets added PT, and will showcase himself on the field.

So with 5 spots, and Gronk clearly taking one, Ridley taking one, and Lloyd takes one to spread the field (he also leads the team in targets thrown), you have two spots: Edelman and Welker. But when Aaron comes back Week 10 after the bye week for Buffalo, he takes up one if those spots, leading to a decision between Welker and Edelman. And that decision will come into effect next year as well, when we are deciding who to bring back.

Edelman and Welker, at 26 and 31 years old respectively, are free agents after this year. Edelman is far more versatile (the former Kent St QB who has played WR, CB, S, PR, and ST ace for New England) than Wes, and will be millions of dollars cheaper. The Pats can probably get Edelman on a 3 year/ $8M deal, while Welker would probably command something around $20M more than that, despite being 5 years older.

If Edelman plays well enough with Hernandez gone, Welker might lose his role for now and for his future as a New England Patriot. And thats all due to someone who was considered his largest roster competition getting injured