The New England Patriots have suspended two players ahead of their Week 18 game against the Buffalo Bills, and now some details on the suspensions have emerged.
The NFL’s transaction wire revealed on Friday that the Pats moved punter Jake Bailey and cornerback Jack Jones from the “reserve/injured” list to the “reserve/suspended” list. The moves were dated December 31, which was prior to the team’s Week 17 game.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss shared some information about the circumstances surrounding the suspensions.
According to Reiss, the suspension for Bailey “is due, in part, to differing viewpoints on if Bailey was ready to return to game action.”
Bailey was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 12 with a back injury. He was designated to return from injured reserve on Dec. 21 and had participated in parts of practice the last two weeks. It’s unclear which party may have felt like Bailey was ready to play or not.
Reiss says that Jones, who was on injured reserve with a knee injury, was fined by the team for missing rehabilitation appointments. The suspension is related to those fines. Jones was seen clearing out his locker on Friday last week, indicating he wasn’t planning to continue his rehab with the team.
Jones’ agent Jamal Tooson issued the following statement about the matter: “Jack is focused on recovering and getting back to help the Patriots as soon as possible. Regarding the suspension, it appears to be based on miscommunication regarding Jack’s rehab process. I’m hopeful we’ll reach an amicable resolution for both Jack and the Patriots.”
Suspending both players puts two game checks in question for both players. The suspension also puts into jeopardy the future guaranteed money from the contract extension Bailey signed in August.
These suspensions do not have an impact on the players the Patriots have had on their active roster for their last several games.
