Maye carries no injury designation; Patriots rule out four vs. Bills

Drake Maye fully practiced all week despite a right shoulder listing, while four teammates are ruled out and six are questionable for the Week 4 trip to Buffalo.

The New England Patriots arrive at their Week 4 date with the Buffalo Bills with clarity at quarterback and doubt in several other spots. Drake Maye appeared on the injury report with a right shoulder issue, but he was a full participant Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and heads into the game without any designation.

Four players have been ruled out, all of them on the defensive side of the ball. Christian Barmore and Christian Gonzalez missed every practice of the week with shoulder injuries. Channing Canada is out with a hamstring problem after two limited sessions and no complete Friday entry on the report. Brenden Schooler also remains out because of a back issue identified alongside the NFI list, even though he was limited throughout the week.

Offensive tackle Morgan Moses is among the six players listed as questionable. A foot injury kept him off the field Wednesday and Thursday before he returned for a limited session Friday, leaving his availability up in the air. If Moses cannot suit up, New England would have to shuffle its blocking, which could affect pass protection and the time passing plays have to develop.

Fullback Reggie Gilliam carries the same designation after a knee injury limited him Wednesday, kept him out Thursday and limited him again Friday. His status matters mostly for blocking and personnel groupings rather than fantasy scoring, and his absence would not automatically funnel extra carries to a particular running back, since different formations can redistribute blocking assignments without changing the rushing workload.

Tight end Eli Raridon was limited in all three sessions with a thigh injury and is questionable as well. Even if he plays, there is no indication of his expected routes, targets or snap share, a caveat aimed mainly at deeper fantasy formats. Teams release their inactive lists about 90 minutes before kickoff, which will settle the status of Raridon, Moses and Gilliam.

On top of the four ruled-out defenders, Christian Elliss, Dre'Mont Jones and Craig Woodson were limited on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and are questionable, with chest and shoulder ailments listed on the report. For fantasy purposes, the run of defensive absences lowers confidence in New England's team defense, and individual defensive player leagues call for replacing the confirmed absences rather than assuming full workloads for anyone listed as questionable.

For fantasy managers, Maye's week of full work removes any injury-based reason to move him out of lineups, though participation alone says nothing about how many pass attempts, rushing opportunities or touchdowns he will generate against Buffalo. The same restraint applies to the receiving corps, where managers are urged not to invent target projections or treat every option as a strong start. Offensive line uncertainty should factor into close calls without overriding a player's established value.

The Patriots and Bills meet Sunday, October 4, at 1:00 PM EDT at Highmark Stadium, with the game televised on CBS.