The Patriots’ injury luck couldn’t be more different from the dream scenario they experienced last year. Not only has New England lost a player from nearly every position group for at least a game at a time, but the team also has more than a dozen players on injured reserve—and only seven remaining designations to reactivate them.
What’s going into head coach Mike Vrabel’s calculations?
“Probably just the depth that you have at the position or the need. I don't think it's something that you really want to make a habit of, but we're in the position that we are. So, figuring out who's healthy enough to return. Some guys aren't. Then we'll see where we go with the depth at each position,” he said this week.
The lengthy IR list was cut down by one name when the Patriots waived punter Bryce Baringer, who started the season there and has since been replaced by Mitch Wishnowsky.
“Those are tough decisions. I don't think those are things that you'd necessarily take lightly,” Vrabel said. “But once you get the specialists, the snap or the hold and all the stuff that they do. We just felt like this was best for us, best for Bryce, and to give him an opportunity to go punt and see if somebody needs a punter. If we would need him back and he was there, then we would want to have him back.”
The clock has already started for backup swing tackle Marcus Bryant. He returned to practice last week, giving the team 21 days to either activate him to the 53-man roster or place him on season-ending injured reserve.
Those case-by-case decisions become a sort of gloomy forecasting for New England’s brain trust: Who will provide relief to the most injury-plagued units, such as the offensive line, and who brings the highest football equivalent of Wins Above Replacement (WAR)?
Vrabel shared that guard Greg Van Roten will likely practice this week, along with backup center/guard Ben Brown, who avoided IR but has missed time. The interior offensive line is, without a doubt, the neediest spot on the roster right now; Alijah Vera-Tucker will still be sidelined for nearly a month.
Two receivers are also on the shelf. Romeo Doubs was arguably New England’s marquee signing in free agency, while Mack Hollins is a physical, blocking receiver who has earned Maye’s trust over the past two seasons. It’s hard to imagine the team leaving either player on the sidelines if they are cleared to play.
Fullback Reggie Gilliam will be eligible to come off the list in mid-November. Given the current struggles of the ground game and a thin tight end room, he is another logical candidate to designate for return.
The mysterious case of linebacker Harold Landry III is another situation to monitor. Landry was absent all summer and began the year on the PUP list. While Dre’Mont Jones, Elijah Ponder, and Gabe Jacas have exceeded expectations in the pass rush, Landry led the team in sacks last year and shares a close relationship with Vrabel.
An NFL team can activate only eight players from injured reserve per regular season. The players mentioned don't even constitute the full list, as others—such as safety Dell Pettus—continue working their way back onto the field. And with the calendar only at Week 8, there is little reason to believe the injury bug will spare the Patriots over the next 10 weeks.
