Jacob Hollister ruled out, Chung and Flowers doubtful for Sunday

FOXBORO — It looks like the Patriots will be without a few key pieces in Detroit this weekend, but that doesn't include their star tight end.

Trey Flowers, Patrick Chung and Jacob Hollister were missing from Patriots practice on Friday. Hollister has been ruled out with a chest injury while Chung and Flowers are doubtful to play against the Lions due to concussions.

The good news is that Rob Gronkowski was at practice and off the injury report. On Thursday, he was [...]

FOXBORO — It looks like the Patriots will be without a few key pieces in Detroit this weekend, but that doesn't include their star tight end.

Trey Flowers, Patrick Chung and Jacob Hollister were missing from Patriots practice on Friday. Hollister has been ruled out with a chest injury while Chung and Flowers are doubtful to play against the Lions due to concussions.

The good news is that Rob Gronkowski was at practice and off the injury report. On Thursday, he was limited with an ankle injury. With Hollister out, the Pats have two tight ends on the roster, Gronk and Dwayne Allen.

Hollister’s injury is surprising. The tight end missed the first game of the season with a hamstring injury. He was on the practice report last week, but was a full participant by the Friday before the team left for Jacksonville. He wasn’t on the injury report at all and was a full participant on Wednesday and Thursday, so it looks like he suffered the injury in practice.

Flowers and Chung are dealing with concussions so there’s little the Patriots can do to speed up their process. Both players missed every practice this week, which suggests they’re not close to completing the NFL’s five-step concussion protocol. Step 4 is when players return to practice, but on a limited basis. In Step 5, they practice with contact. The fact that neither Flowers nor Chung are practicing suggests they’re still in Stage 3.

Last week, Rex Burkhead dealt with a concussion, but he was practicing by Thursday, a full participant on Friday and then he played on Sunday.

Josh Gordon is questionable for Sunday with a hamstring injury. Also questionable are Keion Crossen (hamstring), Marcus Cannon (calf), Nate Ebner (hip) and Eric Rowe (groin).