New England Patriots linebacker and team captain Ja’Whaun Bentley is reportedly expected to miss the rest of the 2024 season with a torn pectoral muscle.
Bentley left Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks early with the injury and never returned. There was hope that he dodged a serious injury and would potentially be available for Thursday’s game against the New York Jets.
However, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the injury ended up being “worse than publicly known.”
Bentley being out is a huge loss for a Patriots defense that is already missing star defensive tackle Christian Barmore. He isn’t just one of the team’s best defenders, but he’s also the signal-caller for the defense.
#Patriots standout LB Ja'Whaun Bentley’s injury is worse than publicly known, and sources says he’s out for the season with a torn pec.
Bentley had more than 100 tackles in each of the last three seasons and was on his way again. A brutal reality. pic.twitter.com/ysMGlNCwkR
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 16, 2024
Raekwon McMillan will likely be the next man up for the Patriots.
The defense showed resilience last year when dealing with key injuries in the secondary. Now, they’ll have to do the same with the defensive front this season.
