BUFFALO -- Seven players, one big surprise. The New England Patriots have released their inactives for Monday night's showdown at Buffalo, and they consist of linebacker Dont'a Hightower and the six players they ruled out prior to kickoff. Hightower was limited all week with a new knee injury. This will be the first game the veteran linebacker has missed this season. Running back Sony Michel, offensive tackle Marcus Cannon and defensive lineman Geneo Grissom were ruled out Sunday. Michel participated in one of New England's four practices during the week after sustaining a knee injury two weekends ago at Chicago. Cannon attended the last three practices while returning from a concussion sustained in Week 6. Grissom has been dealing with an ankle injury. Cornerback Eric Rowe (groin), tight end Jacob Hollister (hamstring) and were rulted out Saturday. Bills running back LeSean McCoy is active after clearing concussion protocol Sunday. 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Bruins-Islanders Game 1 Set For Saturday Night At TD GardenWe don't have a full series schedule just yet, but at least we know when the Bruins and the Islanders will begin their second-round series.<doc-sep>The Buffalo Bills are down some starters heading into tonight’s matchup with the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football. With three players ruled out prior to tonight’s official notification, much of the inactive list was already known. Here are the non-participants in tonight’s contest. QB Josh Allen The Bills will once again start veteran Derek Anderson in place of the rookie, who is still recovering from an elbow injury suffered against the Houston Texans. RB Taiwan Jones The Bills’ special teams captain will miss another game with a neck injury. Marcus Murphy is active in his place. Also able to play is LeSean McCoy, who cleared concussion protocol in time for the game. OT Ike Boettger OT Conor McDermott OG Wyatt Teller Nothing to see here, as the same crew that has been inactive for the last few weeks will be inactive again. DE Trent Murphy A knee injury suffered against the Indianapolis Colts will keep Murphy out of tonight’s game. Shaq Lawson will start in his place. CB Dontae Johnson After suiting up and playing last weekend, Johnson is back to a healthy scratch. Former Patriot Ryan Lewis is active against his old squad. Gameday roster and inactives for #NEvsBUF: pic.twitter.com/loOmFEmcY2 — Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) October 29, 2018 Here are New England’s inactives:<doc-sep>Hightower's deactivation means that tight end Rob Gronkowski will be back in action. Having sat out last week's contest at Chicago with a back issue, Gronkowski returned to practice on a limited basis last week and will be in uniform tonight in Orchard Park. Obviously, that's great news for an Patriots offense that, even without him, is capable of piling up points. Gronkowski, a native of this area, normally puts up big numbers against Buffalo, so, his inclusion in tonight's lineup should be a boon for New England. However, the Patriots will be without rookie running back Sony Michel (knee), who missed three days of practice last week, but managed to take part on a limited basis last Saturday, less than a week after being injured against the Bears. On a night when winds are a potential factor in the passing game, it would have been nice to have Michel's productivity on the ground. New England must find a way to move the ball without him in this contest. Right tackle Marcus Cannon will also miss tonight's tilt, his second straight game as a spectator, due to a concussion. LaAdrian Waddle is expected to man Cannon's post yet again, as he did a week ago versus the Bears. Tight end Jacob Hollister's lingering hamstring problem will cause him to miss a second consecutive game as well. Cornerback Eric Rowe, who's been dealing with a groin injury much of this season, practiced on a limited basis last week after aggravating the injury at Chicago. He won't go tonight, either, which could give rookie J.C. Jackson more opportunities to contribute. He took on a surprisingly larger role at Chicago last week. The final two inactive Patriots shouldn't have too much of an impact on the game plan, as they are frequently inactive this season. Defensive end/special teamer Geneo Grissom is dealing with an ankle injury, while offensive lineman Brian Schwenke injured a foot in practice last Wednesday and did not practice for the next three days.<doc-sep>
In not even 90 minutes, the New England Patriots will play their eighth game of the season – a prime time matchup against the Buffalo Bills. The defending AFC East champions are a bit nicked up for their first meeting with the Bills this season as a look at the inactives list just released shows: Patriots inactives OT Marcus Cannon DE Geneo Grissom TE Jacob Hollister LB Dont’a Hightower RB Sony Michel CB Eric Rowe OL Brian Schwenke Of the seven players declared inactive for tonight’s game, six have already been ruled out in the days leading up to the contest. Hightower is the only additional player to sit out the game against Buffalo – he is was listed as questionable on Saturday’s final injury report because of a knee injury and will be held out of the contest. In his place, Kyle Van Noy will likely serve as the team’s defensive on-field signal caller. With the exception of Hightower and starting right tackle Marcus Cannon, the rest of the questionables from Saturday will all play tonight: starting left tackle Trent Brown, wide receiver Josh Gordon – who will not start because the team is disciplining him for tardiness – and defensive edges John Simon and Deatrich Wise Jr. are all available – as is tight end Rob Gronkowski who returns after a one-game absence. Bills inactives QB Josh Allen RB Taiwan Jones CB Dontae Johnson OG Ike Boettger OT Conor McDermott OG Wyatt Teller DE Trent Murphy The biggest names on the Bills’ list of inactives are obviously first-round rookie quarterback Josh Allen and defensive edge Trent Murphy, although both have already been declared out on Saturday. Meanwhile, running back LeSean McCoy returns after suffering a concussion last Sunday.