The New England Patriots can breathe easy, Jahlani Tavai won’t miss significant time, per Adam Schefter, after suffering an injury during OTAs. It’s the downside to getting early work ahead of training camp.
Schefter reported that Tavai, who led the Patriots defense with 109 tackles last season, was able to walk off the field with help after suffering a calf injury. Those are always tricky as they could linger past the recovery period. Fortunately, it seems he won’t miss too much time. Schefter added that he’ll be sidelined until training camp and I’m sure the Patriots will take extra precaution ahead of putting him back on the field.
Vrabel was able to avoid a major injury ahead of his first season at the helm in New England. There’s a lot of hype around the Patriots and this is a near miss that could have derailed a promising season.
Patriots dodge massive injury hit to top defender as OTAs ramp up
The good thing is during OTAs, this is more of an acclimation period and installation time so Tavai, while he won’t be on the field, will still get some much needed work in, in learning the new system. A system Vrabel will need to excel in as the Patriots look to turn the corner.
Jerod Mayo was given just one season with a miserable roster and before he had a chance to turn things around, he was fired. New England thought they had their guy with Mayo, but that was a smoke screen for their preferred candidate, Vrabel.
The last thing Vrabel needs is major injuries depleting his chances at competing in the AFC East year one. He’s been busy since he took the job retooling this roster to get it as close to contending as possible. Of course that’s going to take more than one season, but all it takes is one year of good luck to set you up for long term success.
New England already added Stefon Diggs, drafted Drake Maye’s protector in Will Campbell and have tried to put weapons around him. Defensively, New England didn’t have to do too much outside of adding depth and getting a No. 1 EDGE rusher on the team.
Losing Tavai would have held this team back this season. So hopefully his injury doesn’t keep him out past the preseason. Again, New England is going to be extremely cautious when it comes to bringing Tavai back as they don’t need any serious injuries turning this season into a trainwreck.
They had a train wreck last season, this year is all about cleaning up that mess and getting back on track.