Week 15: 49ers At Patriots Injury Report

The Patriots (10-3) host the 49ers (9-3-1) on Sunday night (8:20 p.m., NBC) at Gillette Stadium in what could be the regular season game of the year for 2012. Granted, we said the same thing about last Monday-New England vs. Houston-and we all know how that one turned out.

Rob Gronkowski returned to practice for the first time today since breaking his forearm on November 18 but don't get your hopes up: CSN's Tom E. Curran thinks that he'll sit out the rest of the regular season and who could argue with that? No need to rush him back when the Patriots' offense is still putting up crazy numbers without him.

Other than Gronk, there are 17 other Patriots that are listed as questionable. San Francisco only had wide receiver Mario Manningham declared doubtful. The three New England players to pay the most attention to are cornerbacks Aqib Talib (hip) and Alfonzo Dennard (hamstring) plus tackle Nate Solder (abdomen). Talib and Dennard left the Texans game with injuries while Solder was limited in practice today and popped up on the list.

Let's all pretend that Kyle Arrington (knee), Ron Brace (elbow), Patrick Chung (shoulder/hamstring), Dan Connolly (back), Aaron Hernandez (ankle), Dont'a Hightower (hamstring), Chandler Jones (ankle), Brandon Lloyd (knee), Kyle Love (not injury related), Logan Mankins (ankle/calf), Nick McDonald (shoulder), Brandon Spikes (knee/ankle), Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee), Wes Welker (ankle) and Tracy White (elbow) might not play. Yeah that's it.

This will be updated before kickoff on Sunday night as we find out who is missing out on this possible Super Bowl preview.

UPDATE 12/15: Manningham is out. The Patriots currently have 52 players on the active roster, meaning that they have one open spot and they will only need to make six guys inactive tomorrow night instead of seven. We'll have to see who they add in the next few weeks, it's hard to believe they would stay at 52 past this game.

In honor of the victims of the Newtown, CT tragedy, New England will wear black-ribbon logos on their helmets and light 26 white flares during a moment of silence before Sunday night's game. A nice touch that they might as well carry on for the rest of the season if you ask me.

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A Million Reports Say That Matt Light Will Retire This Offseason

As it turns out, when Matt Light got wasted and shirtless after the Patriots lost to the Giants once again in the Super Bowl last February, he knew he was walking away from the NFL for good. In that case, it's a little more forgivable that the normally reliable pro had a night more suited for Rob Gronkowski.

It hasn't been officially recognized yet by the Patriots, he's still listed on the active roster on their team website, but multiple reports today stated what many believed all offseason: Light will retire before next season begins.

By nature, offensive linemen are always underrated and unappreciated in football. The saying goes that you only notice them when they make a mistake: give up a sack, get called for a penalty or can't block a guy, leading to a loss of yards for a running back.

At left tackle, Light was a three-time Pro Bowler (2006, 2007, 2010) and he was part of a team that won eight AFC East division championships, five AFC Championships and three Super Bowls. The Patriots won the first three Super Bowls that he played in (2002 vs. St. Louis, 2004 vs. Carolina, 2005 vs. Philadelphia) but lost the last two (2008 vs. Giants, 2012 vs. Giants).

Coming out of Purdue in 2001 (2nd round, 48th overall), Light will go down as one of the best linemen in franchise history and he's a sure bet for the Patriots Hall of Fame in a few years. He protected Tom Brady's blindside for that entire time while also being a go-to guy for the media and a team leader. He was classy, well-spoken, tough and he possessed a great sense of humor.

New England drafted Nate Solder last season with the obvious plan to replace Light, who appeared to be on his last legs. All Light did in 2011 was go out and have one of his best seasons as a pro. It's a shame that he couldn't go out on the highest note: with one final Super Bowl ring. However, I really respect that he wants to go out while he's still a great player rather than hang around for way too long like most pro athletes do. He must be ready to move on to the next challenge.

It was easy for a while to say that Light couldn't block speed-rushers like Indy's Dwight Freeney but we'll see what life without Light is like beginning in August. I'm sure Brady must be depressed since not only does he lose one of his most trusted teammates, but it means that only him and Kevin Faulk (likely to retire as well) are the only players left from the three Super Bowl winning squads.

Thanks for everything Matt, Patriots fans will never forget all you gave to the organization both on and off the field. Best of luck with the next step in your life.

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Solder Signed By Patriots, All The Rookies Are In Camp Now

Good news today on the negotiation front with the New England Patriots as they signed their first-round pick Nate Solder to reportedly a four-year deal.

The former University of Colorado offensive lineman was the 17th pick in the 2011 draft. He was the only pick by New England that hadn't signed yet with the team. He missed the first seven days of practice and now we're only a week away from the first preseason game (vs. Jacksonville).

From ESPNBoston.com
The 6-foot-8, 319-pounder played left tackle at Colorado.

"He's big, he can run, he's a good pass-blocker, he's a good run-blocker," Belichick said. "He plays on his feet. He's long."

The Patriots re-signed veteran Matt Light to continue to be the starter at left tackle, but he knows that the Pats might have found his eventual replacement.

"Drafting a guy that will come in and fill in for these old bones, it was inevitable," he said Wednesday. "Hopefully we'll have some fun teaching him a thing or two out here."

The Patriots generally hit the lottery on their offensive lineman draft picks so while Solder might not necessarily play much this season, he will likely be a big part of their near future.

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Patriots Pledge Two More Seasons Of Matt Light In Foxborough

Good news for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as his left tackle Matt Light has reportedly agreed to a 2-year deal to stay in New England.

There were rumors that Light (a 10-year veteran of the Pats) was heading to the Seahawks, Steelers or Chiefs but New England made the right decision by keeping him rather than forcing rookie first-round pick Nate Solder to have to take that coveted spot. With the lockout and hyper speed training camp, it would have been taking a huge risk to assume Solder could handle the most important task on the offensive line.

Light, a three-time Pro Bowler (including 2010), started all 16 games last season for the Patriots at left tackle. During a 10-year career, Light has played in 140 games (starting all but two). He was picked by the Patriots in the second round of the 2001 draft.

This is the best of both worlds as Light rightfully keeps his job while serving as a mentor for Solder, who is the left tackle of the future. The Purdue product is a true pro, a respected member of the community and the leader of the offensive line; Brady has to be a happy man (even a little more than usual) with this firmed up.

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In Bill we trust (I guess)

As I get older, thankfully I start to pick up on some patterns surrounding the draft style of my favorite NFL team-the New England Patriots. That keeps me from going insane when they never, ever select who I want.

Head coach Bill Belichick adores stockpiling picks and going for safe choices rather than trading up or reaching for someone that might be more of a question mark.

This has worked handsomely to the tune of say it with me, three Super Bowls in four years. Well guess what? This team hasn't won a playoff game in three seasons so maybe it's time to change things up a bit.

If you're asking Coach Hoodie, the answer is no. The first round of the 2011 NFL draft took place last night at Radio City Music Hall and naive Patriots fans were pumped for two picks (at No. 17 and 28). They blatantly disregarded the fact that New England ALWAYS trades back. Always.

So yes, a bunch of teams ahead of them reached for mediocre quarterbacks, leaving a bunch of defensive ends/outside linebackers (their biggest need) available. Obviously, the Pats ignored that and went with offensive tackle Nate Solder from the University of Colorado.

From all accounts, he's a solid guy and with Matt Light hitting free agency, it makes sense to get his replacement that they can slide to right tackle with Sebastian Vollmer going to left tackle.

That was predictable and so was the next move: trading the 28 pick to the Saints. New Orleans promptly took Mark Ingram-running back from the University of Alabama. The fact that the Saints snagged both Cameron Jordan (DE from Cal) and Ingram was a kick in the pants. Sure, New England got a second round pick and 2012 first round pick for No. 28 but it doesn't matter. Having multiple first round picks just means they'll keep trading forever and ever.

We can't jump off the ledge yet since there's two more days of the draft but for a team desperate for elite talent, gamebreakers, it would be nice to see Belichick and the Patriots take some more risks.