Bill Belichick Comments on Patriots Possibly Resting Players for Final 2 Weeks

The New England Patriots are 12-2 and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs for the sixth straight season after their 33-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 15.

They also have been plagued by injuries to many of their top skill players, and three starters—Dont'a Hightower, Danny Amendola and Patrick Chung—left the game against the Titans and did not return. 

Per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told reporters he is considering resting players in the final two weeks of the regular season:

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We’ll just have to do the best that we can to balance all those things out. That’s something we’ll have to give some thought to and get as much information as possible because there are some guys that are in various states of physical health. We’ll have to work our way through all that. It’s definitely a challenging situation. I wish I had a cleaner answer on it, but really we’re just going to have to work it out.

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As Alper noted, the Patriots rested players in Week 17 during the 2014 season, including quarterback Tom Brady, and ended up winning the Super Bowl.

It's different this year, because despite clinching the AFC East title and a first-round bye, the Patriots have not locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Belichick must decide whether winning the next two games or being healthy for the playoffs is more important.

Adam Bogdan of Stats LLC said having a healthy roster should be the Patriots' main concern:

Some will criticize Belichick regardless of his decision, but with four Super Bowl victories in the past 14 years, he has proved most of his decisions have been the right ones. It would be wise for New England fans to sit back and trust whatever choice the future Hall of Fame coach makes.