The New England Patriots have placed a key player from their defense on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

According to Patriots Wire, starting cornerback Jalen Mills was placed on the COVID designation on Tuesday.

Mills has started in 16 games during his first season with New England. He missed one, a Week 5 win over the Houston Texans, due to a hamstring injury.

The Pats converted Mills from safety to cornerback this year. The 27-year-old has 47 tackles this season with seven pass deflections and one fumble recovery.

If vaccinated for COVID-19, Mills could be eligible to return this weekend with a negative test result for the virus. Regardless, Mills will not practice all week.

In addition to Mills potentially missing the wild-card meeting against the Bills on Saturday, New England might also not have safety Kyle Duggar and linebacker Dont’a Hightower.

Both missed their season finale due to injury and have still listed on the injury report throughout this week. Both were designated as “limited” in practice.

In a slight positive for the Patriots, New England activated defensive back Myles Bryant from the reserve/COVID-19 list. The nickel cornerback also did not play in their finale.

Regardless, there’s a chance the Pats defense is a bit banged up heading into the postseason.

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