Game status update: Parker is INACTIVE for Sunday’s game.
Patriots inactives. pic.twitter.com/3qjfgZEOsG
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 10, 2023
Sunday, Sept. 10 Update: Patriots QB Mac Jones may need to look for receiving help down the depth chart as Parker is not expected to play. He is dealing with a knee injury and will test it in pregame warmups.
#Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson, questionable with an illness, was in meetings yesterday and should play today, source said. Meanwhile, WR DeVante Parker, questionable because of a knee, is not expected to play.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 10, 2023
The start of the regular season brings another, perhaps less heralded, tradition with it: lengthy injury reports from the New England Patriots. By their usual standards, the Patriots’ Week 1 list is relatively short, with just five players listed as questionable, but it includes a couple of key players, like wide receiver DeVante Parker.
Parker is questionable with a knee injury. He was able to practice all week, as a limited participant for all three days. And we really have no reason to expect him to sit out this week’s contest against the Philadelphia Eagles.
DeVante Parker injury status: Betting and DFS implications for Week 1
Parker is expected to fill in some as New England’s deep threat, helping to replace some of the downfield targets that went to Jakobi Meyers, now with the Raiders, last season. Though if he doesn’t play, it is one less pass catcher for quarterback Mac Jones, his absence shouldn’t have a huge impact on the outcome of the game or fantasy football lineups.
The Patriots are four-point underdogs in this one, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, and, frankly, that feels a little generous against an Eagles defense that looks particularly good heading into the season.
Parker probably isn’t someone you’d have in your fantasy lineup anyway, other than a fringe flex player. There are better options for your lineup, because even if he does play, it’s just not a great matchup for him.