What placing Roméo Doubs on IR means for the Patriots

Roméo Doubs’ sixth game as a member of the New England Patriots was a brief affair. The offseason signing only played two snaps, the second of which was a 42-yard touchdown run that saw him remain on the ground with a shoulder injury.

The illness kept him out of the rest of the game and will now sideline him for at least four more games: As the team announced Monday, Doubs has been placed on injured reserve. That means the Patriots will no longer have their highly prized free agency signing against the Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions, or even more.

What else does this decision mean for New England? Let’s evaluate.

Doubs began his tenure with the Patriots with a disappointing performance in Seattle, but he has since managed to turn a corner and develop a good relationship with quarterback Drake Maye.

Including his lone reception Sunday against the New York Jets, he now has 14 catches he’s made for a team-leading 261 yards and three touchdowns. His 18.6 yards per catch ranks second behind only Kyle Williams’ 24.5 and his 11 first downs are third, behind Hunter Henry’s 13 and DeMario Douglas’ 12.

However, for at least the next four games, Doubs will not be able to increase these numbers. He also won’t be able to continue to develop his chemistry with Maye, which has seemed promising in recent weeks.

Wide receiver turnover continues

The Patriots just activated AJ Brown off injured reserve after his four-week stint on the list due to a high ankle sprain, but the team’s new depth at wide receiver was short-lived. The two only shared two snaps together before Doubs was lost to injury.

The shoulder issue that will keep him out for at least the next four games is the latest blow to New England’s continuity at the position. Two weeks ago, Mack Hollins was also sent to IR due to a calf injury he suffered during the team’s win at Buffalo; he will be able to return after the Week 8 game in Miami.

And so, at the moment, New England’s receiver group looks like this:

Squad of 53 players (4): AJ Brown (1), DeMario Douglas (3), Kyle Williams (18 | KR), Efton Chism III (86)

Training team (4): Kyle Dixon (83), Cameron Dorner (88), Chandler Brayboy (81), Ryan Miller (-)

IR (2): Roméo Doubs (87), Mack Hollins (13), Jeremiah Webb (29 | end of season)

The Patriots have played a game under similar circumstances thus far: In Week 5 against the Raiders, they also had just four wide receivers on their active roster. At the time, the team opted not to add additional depth. off the practice squad and instead relied on the tight end position – particularly rookie Eli Raridon – to help pick up the slack.

New England could resort to a similar approach for the near future, and at least until Mack Hollins is eligible to return.

AJ Brown’s first game back from injured reserve was a disappointment. He caught three passes for 27 yards, but did so on 10 total targets while dropping two potential touchdowns.

With Doubs now absent, the Patriots will need him to be better. While Brown won’t single-handedly carry the load offensively, he could be the most important X-factor when it comes to keeping New England in its current form on that side of the ball. If he can progress, the transition from Doubs to him as WR1 should go pretty well, although the two are different types of players; otherwise, the team could face problems in the very near future.

Despite his disappointing return, the Patriots remain optimistic.

“AJ has high expectations of himself, and we have high expectations of him as well,” head coach Mike Vrabel said Sunday. “(I’m) confident he’ll come back, do a lot of things and help us here for the rest of the season.”

Bad luck continues

The Patriots have been decimated by injuries this year, and just six weeks into the season, they have already been forced to rely on their depth at several spots on the roster. On offense alone, they are currently without fullback Reggie Gilliam, receivers Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins, tight end Julian Hill and right guard Mike Onwenu, as well as his replacement among the starters, Greg Van Roten.

They also saw AJ Brown miss four games, left tackle Will Campbell and running back TreVeyon Henderson were shaken up a week ago. Additionally, there are question marks over three O-linemen – Morgan Moses, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Ben Brown – after they couldn’t finish the Jets game on Sunday.

In total, the Patriots have now placed 20 different players on injured reserve, dating back to Hill’s season-ending injury during the offseason. That doesn’t include Harold Landry and Brenden Schooler spending time on the PUP and NFI lists, respectively, nor others like Christian Gonzalez or Craig Woodson missing time due to injury.

Long story short, it’s been a tough season so far for the Patriots and it continues to be.

As part of the four-year, $68 million contract he signed with the Patriots in March, Doubs agreed to per-game bonuses totaling $1.7 million. At least four installments of those bonuses totaling $400,000 won’t be earned now while he’s on injured reserve.

Considering these bonuses were classified as earnable after playing all 17 games with the Packers last season, the Patriots should receive a credit against their salary cap for 2027. Doubs’ cap hit for next season will therefore decrease by $400,000 or more, depending on how much time he ends up missing, either on IR or as inactive on game day. Unless adjustments are made, this figure is currently not expected to exceed $18.2 million.

Additionally, the Doubs may struggle to secure up to $3 million in unlikely-to-win contract incentives for this season. He has $750,000 each on the line for 70 catches, 80 catches, 1,000 receiving yards and 1,200 receiving yards. His currently projected cap number for 2027 will only change if he can unlock those incentive escalators.

It may be the slightest glimmer of hope, but the timing of Doubs’ trip to injured reserve actually works relatively well for the Patriots. With their bye coming up after the Lions game in Germany – that is, the theoretical fourth and final game he will miss – they would have an extra week to get him up to speed before playing another game. Yes, we are running into issues here, thanks for asking.

Doubs’ spot on the 53-man roster went to safety Elliott Davison, who was elevated from the practice squad to the game day squad each of the last two weeks. With six safeties now on the active roster, this gives New England additional depth in the secondary and flexibility with nickel and dime packages as well as on special teams:

Squad of 53 players (6): Kevin Byard (31), Craig Woodson (4), Jaylen Reed (23), Brenden Schooler (41), Mike Brown (33), Elliott Davison (27)

IR (1): Dell Pettus (24)

For Davison, who was just one move away from the practice squad, the move also comes with some serious bay pump. After earning a weekly salary of $13,750 on the development team, it now stands at $49,166.67, an increase of 258%.