Patriots Place FB James Develin on IR

Josh McDaniels and the New England Patriots are one of the few teams in the NFL that still keep and regularly utilize a pure fullback on their roster. However, they will be without their star fullback for a large chunk of the season, and possibly the remainder of the year.

Fullback James Develin has been placed on IR with a neck injury which held him out of Sunday's game against the Jets.

#Patriots placed FB James Develin (neck) on Injured Reserve, per @FieldYates.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) September 23, 2019

Develin will join offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn and wide receiver N'Keal Harry on IR, which will eventually force the Patriots to make a tough decision, as only two of the three will be able to be re-activated this year.

The 31-year-old joined the Patriots in 2012 as an undrafted free agent out of Brown and has since paved the way for the likes of Dion Lewis, James White, and Sony Michel in the Patriots' running game.

Fullback Jakob Johnson, who played 2018 with the German Football League's Stuttgart Scorpions after a brief spell at Tennessee, was promoted to the active roster in light of Develin's injury.

Per @FieldYates, the Patriots are placing FB James Develin on injured reserve (neck). Develin had sustained the injury Week 2 in Miami, and missed Sunday’s win over the Jets. Jakob Johnson is now the top FB after being promoted from the practice squad on Saturday.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 23, 2019

For all the sizzle Tom Brady and Josh Gordon bring, Develin's old-school style is just as much a part of what the Patriots do on offense.