Team news: New England Patriots | Page 51

Falcons coach Dan Quinn said rookie TE Austin Hooper will get the first team snap.

Related players: Jacob Tamme

Tamme has a shoulder injury and the Falcons are on a short week. Hooper played a role in the passing game making five catches for 41 yards.

Atlanta Falcons TE Jacob Tamme landed hard on his shoulder in the first quarter, and walked gingerly off the field holding his right arm. The Falcons' medical staff took Tamme directly to the locker room, and the team ruled him out for the game.

Related players: Austin Hooper

There aren't a lot of well-known names on the Falcons depth chart. Austin Hooper was up and did play a role in the passing game after Tamme went down.

Chargers Inactives
Jahleel Addae SS
Jeremiah Attaochu OLB
Tyreek Burwell T
Asante Cleveland TE
Craig Mager SS
Max Tuerk C
Kenny Wiggins OG

Related players Hunter Henry

Hunter Henry reported concussion-like symptoms this week but practiced and said he would play against the Broncos and sure enough he's in the lineup. Henry has pretty much taken over the TE1 job and despite a tough matchup against the Broncos, put up a 6-83-1 line just two weeks ago in a Thursday night game with Denver.

Chargers tight end Hunter Henry reported concussion-like symptoms this week, but he has been practicing and expects to play on Sunday against the Broncos.

Although Henry is officially listed as questionable and hasn’t been given final clearance in the league’s concussion protocol, he told reporters he’s playing.

Henry has supplanted Antonio Gates as the No. 1 tight end in San Diego. Henry has 20 catches for 326 yards and three touchdowns this season. Obviously we can't take a player's word he's going to play so monitor his situation heading into games this week.

Rookie tight end Hunter Henry, who has shined so far this season, entered the concussion protocol. Chargers coach Mike McCoy said that Henry reported symptoms after the game, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Michael Gehlken. It isn't clear when exactly Henry suffered the injury.

If Henry doesn't get cleared by Sunday, he'll miss the Chargers' divisional showdown against the Broncos. In their earlier meeting this year, Henry broke out with six catches, 83 yards, and a touchdown. If he does miss any game action, expect Gates to take on a larger role. Gates, 36, has caught 17 passes for 119 yards and two scores but admitted he wasn't 100-percent coming into last week.

Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald on James White's playing time:

It’s easier to forecast the New England weather than the Patriots’ backfield rotations, but White should continue to earn more playing time with Brady running the show because they’re naturally expected to throw it more. White has been impressive this season. He looks more elusive, and he has a bit more explosion in his legs. White appears to be breaking more tackles, too.

I don’t under any circumstances believe White will take Blount’s reps in the ground game because Blount is the superior player between the tackles. But I do believe White will be a steady contributor the rest of the way. I never understood why White only played 16 snaps against the Texans and 21 against the Bills. Regardless of the game plan and the quarterback for those games, White had been playing well enough to warrant more playing time for that stretch with Jacoby Brissett.

Howe doesn't address the return of Dion Lewis, but while Lewis remains sidelined, White should see increased snaps now that Tom Brady is back and the team is throwing the ball more.