The Patriots were dealt a significant blow when fullback James Develin was carted off the field with a leg injury on Friday night against the Carolina Panthers, with what multiple reports say is a broken right leg.
The Boston Globe and ESPNBoston.com were among those reporting that the injury was a broken leg. Mike Reiss on ESPNBoston.com reported that Develin broke his right tibia and had surgery in Charlotte on Saturday.
After the injury, Develin was met on the field and sent off by coach Bill Belichick and many of his teammates. He sported an air cast on his right leg as he was carted off the sidelines.
Belichick has referred to Develin as one of the team's most dependable players, and his loss will be a hit to both the Patriots' offense and their special teams units.
Belichick acknowleged on his conference call Saturday that Develin stayed back in Charlotte to have his injured right leg treated. As is his custom, he wouldn't elaborate on the severity of the injury and said the Patriots would "take a look a what our options are" at fullback.
“He didn’t come back with us on the trip. He’s down there in North Carolina, in Charlotte. Don’t really have anything at this point,” Belichick said. “We’ll have to take a look at that I’m not sure right now. Just happened last night. Take a look at what our options are, talk about the situation and figure out what we want to try to do.”
With 8:01 left in the game, Develin caught a pass from Jimmy Garoppolo, his right apparently got caught in the turf and, as he was being tackled, his shin hit safety Dean Marlowe's leg.
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Develin was the only fullback on the roster, which needs to be trimmed to 75 by Sept. 1 and 53 by Sept. 5. Fullback Eric Kettani was released by the Patriots last week. There is speculation that an extra tight end might be kept on the roster and be converted to the fullback role.