FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Whatever the “issues” that Laurence Maroney is dealing with, the Patriots didn’t think they could be resolved this season, because Monday the team put the third-year running back on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, ending his season.
Maroney finished the season with 93 yards on 28 rushes in three games. Without him, the Patriots’ remaining running backs are Sammy Morris, Kevin Faulk, rookie BenJarvus Green-Ellis, fullback Heath Evans and LaMont Jordan, who sat out Monday night’s game against the Broncos with a right calf injury.
Although Maroney sat out the 30-10 loss to the Chargers on Oct. 12 and had not practiced in preparation for Monday night’s game, the move still came as somewhat of a surprise.
Maroney injured his shoulder against the Jets on Sept. 14 and sat out the next week against the Dolphins.
He returned after the bye week against the 49ers and practiced Oct. 8 and Oct. 9, when the Patriots were at San Jose State preparing for the Chargers game.
But on Oct. 10, Maroney had an odd question-and-answer session with reporters in which he was asked if the shoulder had hampered him during a disappointing performance against the 49ers, when he had 10 carries for 26 yards and looked tentative.
Maroney did not directly answer questions about the shoulder, but said: “Hey, I have my issues. There are reasons I’d rather not speak about, but there are reasons.”
When asked about the shoulder injury during the bye week, Maroney said it was a “little, minor setback.”
