FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots placed second-year cornerback Jack Jones on injured reserve Saturday, meaning he will miss at least the first four games of the season.
Jones, who had gun charges against him dropped on Tuesday, has an injured hamstring, according to the team.
The Patriots open the season Sunday against the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS) and likely would have been relying on Jones as a reserve. Jones played in 13 games last season (two starts), totaling 38% of the defensive snaps.
First-round draft pick Christian Gonzalez and eight-year veteran Jonathan Jones project as the starting cornerbacks, with Marcus Jones (second year), Myles Bryant (fourth year) and Shaun Wade (third year) next on the depth chart.