October 27, 2020 | 12:04 PM
Patriots linebacker Brandon Copeland, who tore a pectoral muscle in Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, will reportedly miss the remainder of the season.
Copeland, who is expected to undergo surgery within the coming week, tweeted Monday night that he’s confident he can bounce back.
“The COMEBACK has already happened,” Copeland wrote. “Judging by the prayers, messages and love I have received y’all already know I’ll be back better than ever to continue writing the [football] chapter of my story Thank you to everyone who has reached out and prayed for me.”
The COMEBACK has already happened
Judging by the prayers, messages and love I have received y’all already know I’ll be back better than ever to continue writing the 🏈 chapter of my story
Thank you to everyone who has reached out and prayed for me 🙏🏽🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/LNIunwILyQ— Brandon Copeland (@bcope51) October 26, 2020
Copeland, 29, is in his fifth season in the National Football League. He previously played with the Detroit Lions for two years and the New York Jets for two more before signing with the Patriots in March.
He appeared in all six of New England’s games to this point, largely contributing on special teams and chipping in on defense as well. Copeland will finish the year with 12 tackles, including four solo tackles against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2.
“Brandon’s done a good job to give us some versatility,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Tuesday. “He’s played for us on all four downs, in the kicking game and some inside linebacker and outside linebacker. So, he’s an experienced player that in our situation will be hard to replace.”
With Dont’a Hightower opting out of the season, and Kyle Van Noy, Elandon Roberts, and Jamie Collins all gone as well, the Patriots were already lacking in depth at linebacker before this injury. Now they’ll have even less, and it’s possible rookie Josh Uche – who is eligible to be activated off the injured reserve – could make his NFL debut soon.
Regardless of how Uche fares, the Patriots made it clear they’ll miss Copeland’s veteran presence.
“B-Cope is a fantastic linebacker and an even better person,” fellow linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley told reporters Monday. “Prayers out to him and anything that he may be going through, as far as the injury is concerned. We just wish him the best. He brought a lot to the table, as far as being a linebacker and a voice on the defense.”
Get Boston.com’s browser alerts:
Enable breaking news notifications straight to your internet browser.
