The New England Patriots have been dealing with an illness that has wreaked havoc in their locker room this week. The team had as many as 17 players listed as questionable on their Friday injury report and nine were listed with an illness.
In order to prevent the illness from spreading any further, the Patriots made a brilliant move as they traveled to Houston. According to ESPN's Field Yates, they took two planes in order to effectively quarantine the sick players.
This definitely was a smart move by the Patriots. They were able to get their hands on a second plane, so why wouldn't they send both? It protects the healthy players from getting sick and should, hopefully, ensure that no other players fall ill before the Sunday night contest against the Texans.
Speaking of the sick players, they are currently still listed as questionable. Seven of those listed are starters including offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn, cornerback Stephon Gilmore, linebacker Dont'a Hightower, linebacker Kyle Van Noy, offensive tackle Marcus Cannon, safety Patrick Chung, and linebacker Jamie Collins.
Backup offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor and cornerback Joejuan Williams round out the group of nine questionable while tight end Ryan Izzo is the only player confirmed to be out with an illness this week.
The good news for the Patriots: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport stated that "most or all should play" in tonight's contest.
We'll keep a close eye on these players in the lead-up to the game, but at least things seem to be trending in the right direction for the Patriots.
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New England Patriots
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