New England Patriots
“We’ll have to figure things out without him here for a little while, and I’m not sure how long that’ll be.”
Romeo Doubs suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
October 20, 2026 | 6:07 PM
2 minutes to read
FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots won’t have Romeo Doubs out on the field for at least the next four games, with the wide receiver placed on injured reserve after suffering a shoulder injury in Sunday’s home win over the Jets.
But even if Doubs is eligible to return from IR after New England’s bye week in late November, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel on Wednesday offered a concerning update on Doubs’ recovery timeline.
Speaking ahead of practice, Vrabel said that the Patriots are not setting any timeline for Doubs’ potential return to the gridiron this season.
“The expectation is that he’ll work hard and get treatment,” Vrabel said. “But to say I know exactly when he’ll be back, I don’t think that’s fair to anybody. I think Rome was continuing to build confidence and ended up being a huge play in the football game, to make that play, the X play.
“It’s just unfortunate. I think he was just continuing to grow and develop. We’ll have to figure things out without him here for a little while, and I’m not sure how long that’ll be.”
Doubs suffered the injury on his touchdown catch against New York on Sunday, landing hard on his shoulder after diving into the end zone to reel in a pass from Drake Maye. He did not return for the remainder of the game, finishing with one catch for a 42-yard touchdown.
Through six weeks this season, Doubs has recorded 14 catches for 261 yards and three touchdowns with New England.
The Patriots enter Thursday’s primetime game against the Bears with just four wideouts on their 53-man roster in A.J. Brown, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism, and Kyle Williams.
Injuries have hampered New England’s pass-catching corps throughout this current campaign, with Doubs standing as the third Patriots wideout to land on IR after A.J. Brown (Week 1) and Mack Hollins (Week 4).
New England also has to overcome sizable injuries on the offensive line entering Thursday’s game against Chicago, with Vrabel acknowledging that both left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and right guard Ben Brown “probably” won’t be cleared to play at Solider Field.
However, Vrabel added that right tackle Morgan Moses has a chance to play despite exiting Sunday’s win over the Jets with an ankle injury. Moses was listed as a “limited” participant in Monday’s practice report.
If Moses is cleared to play, the Patriots could shift rookie tackle Caleb Lomu to guard — especially in place of another backup lineman like Walter Rouse or Matt Pryor.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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