The New England Patriots will be looking for their first win of the 2026 campaign in Week 2 when they go up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After suffering an ugly 13-10 loss against the Seattle Seahawks to begin the season, the Pats need a bounce-back performance, but nothing will come easy against a tough Steelers team.
New England’s aforementioned loss to Seattle was made worse by the fact that star wide receiver A.J. Brown suffered an ankle injury that has landed him on injured reserve. He isn’t the only key player who emerged from this game banged up, as starting cornerback Carlton Davis III has been managing a neck injury this week. After initially being listed as questionable for this game, New England made a change to Davis’ status for this game on Saturday afternoon.
Carlton Davis III Ruled Out for Patriots’ Week 2 Action
There’s been a lot of attention on the Pats’ cornerback room to begin the season, thanks in large part to the contract drama that surrounded Christian Gonzalez. With so many eyes on Gonzalez, Davis flew under the radar to an extent during training camp, but when he and Gonzalez are on the field, they are one of the top cornerback duos in the league.
With Davis also being a skilled man cornerback, the Pats have the freedom to mix and match their coverages as they please. Opposing quarterbacks don’t want to target Gonzalez very often in the air, which leads to Davis seeing more action on the other side of the field. Against the Seahawks, though, he held up quite well, as he allowed just one completion for 11 yards on passes where he was the nearest defender.
Initially, head coach Mike Vrabel claimed that Brown was the only major injury that the Patriots suffered in Week 1, but Davis didn’t practice at all this week due to his aforementioned neck injury. Still, the team listed him as questionable for the game on Friday, giving him a shot to suit up against Pittsburgh. However, the team unsurprisingly ended up ruling Davis out, meaning New England will be shorthanded in the secondary for this big game.
“CB Carlton Davis III has been downgraded to OUT for PIT vs. NE,” the team announced in a post on X.
Patriots Need Rest of Their Secondary to Step Up in Carlton Davis III’s Absence
Losing Davis hurts, as his and Gonzalez’s ability to play tight man coverage allows New England to be more aggressive than it typically would otherwise. With Davis out, Charles Woods seems set to slide into a starting role alongside Gonzalez, with Karon Prunty and Channing Canada also set to see an uptick in snaps.
If there was a game for Davis to miss, though, this one might be it. Not only is heavy rain in the forecast (which could have an impact on both teams’ respective passing games), but the Steelers also may be without one of their top wide receivers, Michael Pittman Jr. The secondary will still be tested without Davis, and how they hold up could determine which team comes out on top.
Patriots Rule Out Starting Defensive Back for Steelers Clash