Brenden Schooler, the Patriots’ safety and special teamer, has officially landed on the active/non-football injury list just as training camp kicks off, a real gut punch for New England. Head coach Mike Vrabel confirmed the news, making Schooler one of the first guys to hit the NFI list.
Schooler’s Absence Is a Massive Blow to Special Teams
Man, talk about a rough start for the Pats. Schooler was a first-time captain in 2025, and he’s been an absolute force on special teams, playing a ridiculous 77 percent of their snaps in the kicking game. This is the same dude who earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro recognition in 2024, before going on to set a career-high with 16 special teams tackles last season. Losing that kind of production and leadership right out of the gate for camp? That’s gonna sting big time for the Patriots. Coach Vrabel said Schooler “may be away for a little bit , or out for a little bit,” which sounds like a waiting game.
Other Injuries Pile Up as Training Camp Gets Rolling
Schooler isn’t alone on the sidelines either. Running back Terrell Jennings is also on the active/non-football injury list. Plus, they already moved outside linebacker Harold Landry III and tight end C.J. Dippre to the active/physically unable to perform list earlier this week. It’s a bit of an early injury bug for them. On the bright side, outside of rookie Gabe Jacas, who is still unsigned, everyone else reported for conditioning tests on Friday. Vrabel sounded upbeat about the initial results, saying the “run test went well, nothing really to report there which is probably the best thing to say , is that there were no issues.”
So, while the run test was good news, the Patriots are now set to hit their first practice of the summer on Saturday without some key players on the field. Getting Schooler and the others back healthy and ready to roll for the season is going to be a top priority.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pats Pulpit.
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