FOXBOROUGH – The New England Patriots learned Wednesday morning that their Week 17 opponent for Sunday's pivotal game will be without their starting quarterback due to a concussion. They might face a pair of similar blows themselves.

Rookie cornerback Marcus Jones missed practice on Wednesday due to a concussion. Jones was injured during Saturday's loss to the Cincinnati Bengals after making a clutch fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, though he returned on the Patriots' ensuing offensive drive as he said he only had the wind knocked out of him.

Jones has been a revelation for the Patriots in recent weeks. He scored the game-winning touchdown in Week 11 on a punt return in the final seconds to help the Patriots beat the New York Jets 10-3. Two weeks later, he scored a touchdown on offense when he took a screen pass 48 yards for a score in the loss to the Buffalo Bills. Jones (finally) scored a defensive touchdown last week when he intercepted Joe Burrow's pass and ran it 69 yards for a score.

With his touchdown on Saturday, Jones joined Deion Sanders as the only players to score a 40-plus yard touchdown via a punt return, reception, and interception in NFL history.

In between all of his touchdown scoring, Jones has had solid moments working as a coverage corner, too. In Week 15 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Jones allowed just two receptions on three targets for 14 yards when he was covering Davante Adams. On the season, Jones has allowed 21 receptions on 32 targets for 326 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, giving quarterbacks an 83.6 passer rating when targeting him.

The Patriots might be thin at corner for their Week 17 matchup. In addition to Jones, both Jalen Mills (groin) and Jack Jones (knee) were absent from Wednesday's practice. Mills has missed the Patriots' last four games due to his injury while Jack Jones has missed two games due to his knee injury.

Tight end Jonnu Smith was added to the injury report due to a concussion he suffered in Saturday's loss. Smith received a hard hit early in the fourth quarter and was promptly removed from the game. Wide receiver DeVante Smith, who suffered a concussion in the Patriots' Week 14 win over the Cardinals, also didn't practice on Wednesday.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick

Preston Byers ·

Robert Kraft, Drake Maye, JJ McCarthy. NFL Draft logo

Ryan Bologna ·

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll with eyeball emoji over his eyes looking at a blank silhouette/outline of an American football player. There is a big question mark inside the silhouette/outline.

Ben Strauss ·

As for some good injury news for the Patriots, tight end Hunter Henry practiced Wednesday in limited fashion after departing Saturday's game in the first quarter due to a knee injury. Henry was reportedly viewed as day-to-day following his injury.

As for the Dolphins, they've already ruled out Tua Tagovailoa due to a concussion he suffered in their Christmas Day loss to the Green Bay Packers. Offensive tackle Terron Armstead and defensive end Bradley Chubb didn't practice for them on Wendesday, either.

The Patriots enter Sunday's game controlling their own playoff destiny though as they're 7-8, a loss would eliminate them from playoff contention and would give the Dolphins the final playoff spot in the AFC. A win for the Patriots would place them in a win-and-in situation for the final week of the regular season.