FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The toughness shown by New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett this season has been admirable, but has it finally caught up to him?

This is what came to mind in recent days as Bennett, playing through a sprained ankle and shoulder injury, hardly looked like himself in Sunday’s 26-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams (two catches for 4 yards, two holding penalties).

The Patriots need Bennett more than ever now that fellow tight end Rob Gronkowski is out for the season following back surgery. But they also need him as healthy as possible for the games that truly count, which puts them in a challenging spot as they prepare for Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Should they rest him? Can they really afford to rest him?

After watching Bennett (44 catches, 544 yards, 4 TDs) this season, there is no doubt where he stands on the topic: He wants in.

The first obvious indication of Bennett’s ability to play through pain came Oct. 9 against Cleveland when he had his right ankle rolled up on during a goal-line running play in the first half. Bennett writhed in pain and required medical attention, but ultimately returned to the game and scored three touchdowns.

The ankle has been an issue since, at times leaving him in significant pain, such as in the team’s Nov. 27 win over the New York Jets when he was tackled by linebacker David Harris directly by the ankle on a 4-yard end-around run. Bennett reached for the ankle after the tackle, and remained down on the field for an extended period as the athletic training staff tended to him.

Similar to the Cleveland game, he later returned to action, but it's almost been as if he is a powerful truck that is slowed by having a spare tire.

All of which brings us to this week, with Bennett among four players who were absent from the Patriots’ Wednesday practice. It could be a one-day break, or perhaps the start of something a bit longer in hopes of getting the right ankle back to a healthier place.

For his part, Bill Belichick, who isn’t one to tip his hand on those plans, has had nothing but good things to say about Bennett’s contributions to this point.

“Martellus has done a good job for us. He’s given a lot of production this year – blocking, catching the ball and running after the catch has really been impressive,” he said in an interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

But that production is way down of late, just six catches for 40 yards during the past three games.

So as much as the Patriots need Bennett in a post-Gronkowski world, it’s the Bennett from earlier in the season that they need, not the one from this past Sunday.

Thus, how that affects their plans with him against the Ravens bears watching.