Aaron Dobson Reportedly Placed On IR

Photo Credit: John Minchillo - Associated Press

Photo Credit: John Minchillo – Associated Press

As everyone knows, the New England Patriots have had some problems in their receiving corps in the past few years. Aside from Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots have struggled to find a consistent threat in the receiving game and even Gronk hasn’t been consistent due to injuries.

In the 2013 NFL draft, the Patriots thought that they could try to remedy that by drafting Aaron Dobson out of Marshall in the second round. However, that pick hasn’t really panned out up to this point. Last season, Dobson managed to catch 37 passes for 519 yards and four touchdowns. However, he struggled throughout the season, dropping pass after pass.

In the beginning of the season it seemed as if Dobson couldn’t catch a single pass. He began to pick it up towards the end of the season, but unfortunately couldn’t stay healthy. He only played in 12 games last year. Most people had higher expectations for the second round pick coming into his sophomore season, but he has failed to deliver.

Battling to stay healthy for most of the offseason and through the regular season, Dobson only played in four games all year, hauling in three passes for 38 yards. New England fans may remember watching him run down the sideline for a deep pass in last week’s game against the Green Bay Packers and, after failing to get to the ball, he limped off the field.

It seems that the injury he suffered on that play has been bigger than it appeared at the time. According to many reports, Dobson has been placed on the Patriots Injured Reserved list. Luckily for the Patriots, he hasn’t been a part of the offense this year, so his absence won’t affect things too much. It’s just unfortunate that the young prospect won’t be able to progress anymore, because despite what he hasn’t done so far, he’s still got loads of potential.

Looks like Dobson will be looking forward to rehabbing and getting back on the field for next season. The Patriots can take solace in the fact that impact defensive player Chandler Jones is back to practicing in full form, which should be very helpful, as they couldn’t apply any pressure to quarterbacks with him gone.