FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots will be without two of their top three cornerbacks on Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons, as Stephon Gilmore (concussion) and Eric Rowe (groin) have been ruled out by the team.
Gilmore will miss his second straight game. Rowe will miss his third after injuring his groin Oct. 1 against the Carolina Panthers.
Gilmore knocked heads with Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans during an Oct. 5 game, and he experienced headaches over the next week, a source told ESPN's Josina Anderson. Gilmore fully participated in practice for four days leading up to the team's next game before being officially added to the injury report on Oct. 14, which might have been a result of him self-reporting concussion-type symptoms at that time.
Without Gilmore and Rowe, the Patriots have Malcolm Butler, Johnson Bademosi and Jonathan Jones as the only healthy cornerbacks on the roster, unless they promote a player from the practice squad. Butler and Bademosi started the team's most recent game, Oct. 15 against the New York Jets.
Bademosi was added to the injury report Friday as questionable with an abdomen injury.
To account for the shortage at cornerback, the Patriots tapped the versatility of safeties Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung, who have carried out some corner-like responsibilities in certain schemes.
In addition, the Patriots removed running back Rex Burkhead from the injury report, paving the way for his return to action for the first time since injuring his ribs Sept. 17.