Aaron Hernandez Injury: Latest Updates on Patriots TE's Week 3 Status

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez suffered an MCL sprain in the team's Week 2 win over the San Diego Chargers. There have been conflicting reports on the severity of the injury and how long it will keep the talented tight end out of the lineup.

With that in mind, keep checking back to this page for the latest updates on Hernandez's Week 3 status throughout the week.

UPDATE: 9/25/2011 11:55 a.m. ET

The New England Patriots have one of the most dangerous offense is the NFL, but it will be missing one of its biggest components when tight end Aaron Hernandez sits today's game out.

With a huge target missing, ESPN is reporting that there will be a new target that Tom Brady looks upon against the Buffalo Bills:

It has been rough going for Chad Ochocinco so far this season, but with an opportunity to show exactly what he is made of, look for a big day from Ochocinco and the Patriots' offense.

UPDATE: 9/24/2011 8:15 a.m. ET

Things just got even tougher for a New England Patriots team that hasn’t had a challenge against the Buffalo Bills since 2003. Not only are the Pats heading to Buffalo to play the 2-0 Bills, they will be doing with just one tight end.

Patriots beat reporter for ESPNBoston.com Mike Reiss said on twitter about New England’s tight end quandaries:

While Aaron Hernandez being out is terrible for the Patriots, they still have enough weapons to get by the Buffalo Bills, and expect huge numbers from the only tight end the team has left, Rob Gronkowski.

Thursday, Sept. 22 at 12:31 p.m. EDT

Hernandez made an appearance at the Patriots facility today. According to Jeff Howe of NESN, the star second-year tight end looked good walking around.

He's not expected to be back on the field just yet, but any sign of progress is good for the Patriots. Their two tight end set with Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski has proven to be one of the best attacks in the league.

Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 4:15 p.m. EDT

Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald confirmed via Twitter that Aaron Hernandez did not practice today, so there will be no magical healing from his MCL sprain.

The Patriots are playing coy with Hernandez's situation but the fact that he wasn't at practice today likely confirms it will be a couple weeks on the sidelines for the tight end.

Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 12:15 p.m. EDT

WEEI, a sports radio station out of Boston, provides us with the third different timetable on the return of Aaron Hernandez. The timetable is now anywhere from two weeks to six weeks and no source seems overly confident at this point.

As a member of the Patriots, the lack of information about Hernandez's injury isn't surprising. However, it is quite frustrating.

Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9:30 a.m. EDT

Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe, who was the first person to break the news about Hernandez missing time, continues to believe the tight end's injury is of the short-term variety.

"

The Patriots likely will be without versatile tight end Aaron Hernandez for two weeks, after he suffered a medial collateral ligament sprain against San Diego Sunday, a league source said.

"

Other outlets have said that Hernandez could miss a month or more, so this is good news for fantasy owners and the Patriots offense as a whole.

Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 3:30 p.m. EDT

The official amount of time that Aaron Hernandez is not yet known and probably won't be in the short term because of the Patriots' shroud of secrecy concerning injuries. ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg examined how the New England offense will work without him.

"

If the Patriots are without Hernandez on Sunday, it will be interesting to see how much they deviate from what's worked so well the first two weeks of the season. This is a chance to show they're built to avoid being caught in the one-dimensional trap that sometimes plagued the 2009 squad.

"

It's a very interesting article that breaks down the pertinent stats and takes a deeper look at the Patriots offense. The bottom line? Losing Hernandez won't totally destroy the New England offense, but it could stop it from being elite.

Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 12 p.m. EDT

The most recent update came from Tom Curran, a Patriots insider for CSNNE.com. Curran reports the injury could keep Hernandez out for a month or more, pending test results today.

"

Aaron Hernandez has a sprained MCL that could keep him down for at least a month.

The full diagnosis isn't in yet and the Boston Globe which first reported the MCL sprain had a timetable of 1 to 2 weeks. I'm hearing it could be as long as six weeks. More will be learned as the day progresses.

"

This news would hurt the Patriots offense, which has been picking apart opposing defenses with its two talented tight ends. Hernandez has made major strides last season and it would be disappointing for an injury to derail his progress.

Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 12 p.m. EDT

The first person to report the news that Hernandez could miss time was Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe. She tweeted that it sounded like a short-term injury.

If this report turns out to be true, the Patriots will have dodged a bullet. MCL injuries have the potential to end a player's season.