Williams out for Patriots-Jets, but there’s good news on Henderson

New England Patriots

The Patriots will also be down six other starters for Sunday’s game against the Jets.

By Conor Roche

December 26, 2025 | 4:23 PM

3 minutes to read

The Patriots had a mixed bag of injury news on Friday ahead of Sunday’s game against the Jets.

Defensive tackle Milton Williams (ankle) won’t be activated off injured reserve for Sunday’s game, with New England ruling out six other players. However, running back TreVeyon Henderson (concussion) practiced without the red non-contact injury on Friday and will be questionable.

Linebacker Robert Spillane (ankle), edge rusher Harold Landry (knee), defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (foot), left guard Jared Wilson (concussion), and wide receivers Kayshon Boutte (concussion) and Mack Hollins (abdomen) were the other players ruled out. Wide receiver DeMario Douglas, meanwhile, is questionable to play in Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.

While the Patriots will be down six other starters, Williams’s absence is the most notable. Williams returned to practice this week after suffering an ankle sprain in the Patriots’ Week 11 win over the Jets, with the team placing him on injured reserve shortly after that loss.

With Williams out, the Patriots’ defensive front has noticeably taken a step back in recent weeks. New England’s recorded just six sacks in the last four games, while allowing 570 rushing yards on 4.8 yards per carry over that stretch. Prior to the injury, Williams had been one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles at generating pressure. His 14 percent pass-rush win rate was the third-best at the position at the time of his injury, and his 35 pressures are the second-most among defensive tackles.

Williams’s return to practice started the Patriots’ 21-day window to either activate or lose him for the rest of the season. He assured MassLive’s Karen Guregian that he’ll return, though, saying he’s “definitely close” to getting activated.

Spillane’s absence has also contributed to the Patriots’ woes at stopping the run over the last two weeks. They allowed both James Cook and Derrick Henry to rush for over 100 yards in their games against the Bills and Ravens, respectively, with Spillane missing both matchups.

As for Henderson, the running back departed last week’s win over the Ravens early due to a concussion. New England was only able to put up 76 rushing yards outside of Henderson in the win over Baltimore. Henderson has played much better as of late after some early-season struggles as he leads the team in rushing with 776 yards on 5.2 yards per carry.

“I can’t really elaborate on where he’s at,” Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Friday. “I just want to say that he’s in the protocol until he’s not. I think that’s probably the easiest way for me, just out of respect of the process of it. That’s really where it’s at.”

Henderson’s return could be much-needed if the Patriots have to rely on the ground game against the Jets. Hollins, Boutte, and Douglas are three of the team’s five leading receivers in yards. Hollins, in particular, has become one of Drake Maye’s top targets as of late, logging 431 receiving yards over the Patriots’ last eight games.

The wave of injuries the Patriots are dealing with certainly isn’t ideal, even if they’re facing the 3-12 Jets. They’re seeking to potentially clinch an AFC East title this weekend, while they need a win to stay alive in the race for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.

But the Patriots are going to the playoffs, regardless of what happens on Sunday. And the players who’ll miss Sunday’s game seem likely to be back on the practice field ahead of their regular-season finale next week.

“No, I don’t think it’ll take a [miracle],” Vrabel said when asked if it’d take a miracle for those seven players to practice next week. “We’ll see where that is and we’ll go from there. They’re just not available for the game. A couple of them are in protocol and a couple of them have something else going on. We’ll see where we’re at after the game. That’s the most important thing.”