Nelson Agholor Won’t Return for Patriots vs. Colts Because of Head Injury

AP Photo/Matt Patterson

New England Patriots wide receiver Nelson Agholor suffered a head injury in the third quarter of Saturday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Patriots announced Agholor will miss the rest of the game.

Agholor was injured when he was hit in the head by Colts linebacker Darius Leonard after catching a 10-yard pass.

The 28-year-old arrived in New England this offseason as part of the team’s spending spree. He signed a two-year, $22 million deal that included $16 million in guarantees. The Patriots committed $307.5 million in free agency, nearly $100 million more than the next closest team, per Over the Cap.

The size of Agholor’s contract was somewhat surprising after he enjoyed a solid but unspectacular 2020 season. He caught 48 passes for 896 yards and eight touchdowns with the Las Vegas Raiders.

While the former USC star has often struggled to find consistency from year to year, perhaps he finally turned a corner in Sin City.

His first season in New England has been a return to the norm, though. He has 36 receptions for 450 yards and three touchdowns, including Saturday’s stats.

Even if he’s not a long-term solution at wideout, New England was clearly looking to Agholor to play a big role in the passing game in 2021 after seeing its investment in 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry yield underwhelming returns. His injury will put more pressure on Jakobi Meyers and Kendrick Bourne.