FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers, who entered last Sunday's game having played 91 percent of the team's defensive snaps, is one of eight players who are questionable for Sunday's road game against the Buffalo Bills (CBS, 1 p.m. ET).
Flowers sustained a rib injury in last Sunday's win over the Dolphins and was limited all week in practice. When asked Friday afternoon how he felt about his chances of playing, Flowers respectfully deflected the inquiry.
The Patriots have been thin at defensive end all season, which has highlighted the importance of Flowers' availability. About a month ago, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia was asked if there was any concern in relying so much on Flowers, and he pointed out how there have been years where the team's ends seldom came off the field (e.g. 2013 with Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich), which reflected how Flowers' increased workload wasn't viewed with much alarm.
If Flowers isn't available on Sunday, the Patriots would be be relying on rookie Deatrich Wise Jr., the fourth-round pick out of Arkansas, and Eric Lee, the first-year player from South Florida who was signed off the Bills' practice squad last week.
The Patriots also use their linebackers as end-of-the-line players in certain schemes, but two of those players -- Kyle Van Noy (calf) and Trevor Reilly (concussion) -- are both questionable as well. Reilly wore a red, non-contact jersey at practice Friday.
In a game-plan where keeping quarterback Tyrod Taylor in the pocket figures to be a high priority, the Patriots' personnel on the end of the line ties into that significantly and bears watching.
In addition to Flowers, Van Noy and Reilly, the other Patriots who are questionable are center David Andrews (illness), linebacker Marquis Flowers (knee), cornerback Eric Rowe (groin), special teams captain Matthew Slater (hamstring) and swing offensive tackle LaAdrian Waddle (ankle).
Quarterback Tom Brady (Achilles) and wide receiver Danny Amendola (knee) were removed from the injury report, while starting right tackle Marcus Cannon (ankle) and starting wide receiver Chris Hogan (shoulder) already have been ruled out after not practicing all week.