FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots will be without run-stuffing defensive tackle Alan Branch for this Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, as he missed the entire week of practice after sustaining a knee injury in the first half of Monday's loss to the Dolphins.
Branch's absence was expected after the team moved to re-sign veteran defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois on Wednesday. The 6-foot-6, 350-pound Branch has been part of a four-man rotation with starters Lawrence Guy and Malcom Brown, and rookie Adam Butler.