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Patrick Chung to miss Patriots' OTAs after pair of scheduled offseason surgeries

ben weinrib
Yahoo Sports Contributor
Patriots safety Patrick Chung is expected to be back for training camp after breaking his forearm in the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Patriots safety Patrick Chung is expected to be back for training camp after breaking his forearm in the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Sunday had its fair share of ups and downs for New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung, as he left Super Bowl LIII with a broken forearm and a third championship.

Now comes more mixed news for the 10-year veteran: he has to undergo two surgeries and miss OTAs but should be back in time for training camp in August.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Jeff Howe, Chung is scheduled for surgery on his right forearm on Thursday, and he’ll require an additional procedure about three weeks later to clean up a shoulder injury that he played through most of the season.

Chung suffered the forearm injury early in the third quarter of the Super Bowl. During the Los Angeles’ Rams first drive of the second half, Chung came in to tackle running back Todd Gurley, when he inadvertently collided with teammate Jonathan Jones. Chung immediately grabbed his forearm and left the field under his own power with an aircast on his arm.

Meanwhile, Chung only appeared on the Patriots’ injury report for a shoulder injury once. During Week 14, he was limited in practice twice but was a full participant on the Friday before the game, and was not even listed as questionable come game day.

The various injuries did not hold back Chung back during the regular season, during which he was second on the team with 84 tackles despite missing the third game of the season. Chung also added an interception for the third straight season along with 0.5 sacks, three passes defended and a fumble recovery.

Despite turning 32 in August, Chung is expected to return to the Patriots. He has an affordable $3.575 million cap hit for next season with $2.4 million in dead money. Chung’s contract runs up in 2020 with a $3.6 million cap hit and only $1.2 million in dead money in the final year.

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