The Patriots are en route to Buffalo, where they'll face the Bills for the first time this season on Sunday in Orchard Park, but first, New England has tinkered with its roster.
With two open spots on the 53-man roster, the Patriots signed RB Terrell Jennings to the active roster from the practice squad. New England also elevated WR Alex Erickson and LB Monty Rice from the practice squad for Sunday's game vs. the Bills.
The Patriots also didn't rule out any of their five questionable players en route to Buffalo, meaning the following players still have a chance to play in Sunday's contest: S Kyle Dugger (ankle/illness), S Jabrill Peppers (hamstring), OL Cole Strange (knee), DE Keion White (groin). However, rookie OT Caedan Wallace (ankle) was not activated from injured reserve, making him ineligible to play this week. Wallace is out.
Starting in the offensive backfield, the Patriots signed undrafted rookie Terrell Jennings to the active roster, with backup RB JaMycal Hasty (ankle) ruled out this week. Jennings will likely be active for Sunday's game in place of Hasty, who has played 11.8% of the offensive snaps and has a role on special teams in three different phases.
Jennings, a 6-foot, 217-pound tailback, was previously active for New England in Week 6. The undrafted rookie out of Florida A&M carried the ball five times for 13 yards vs. the Texans earlier this season. As mentioned, Jennings is considered a power back who can finish runs and churn out the tough yards between the tackles. One would expect lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson and emerging playmaker Antonio Gibson to play the lion's share of the offensive snaps, with Jennings as an emergency option on offense and a replacement for Hasty in the kicking game.
As for Erickson, the eight-year veteran best known for his time spent with the Bengals has plenty of experience as a returner in the NFL. Erickson, who has not been on a team this season until now, has 162 career punt returns and 110 career kickoff returns. The former Bengal and Chargers wideout could take over on punt (Marcus Jones out) and kickoff returns (Hasty out) this week. The Pats could've used slot receiver DeMario Douglas, who returned 11 punts as a rookie, in that role. Instead, it'll likely be Erickson.
Next, Rice was elevated from the practice squad for the first time to play a special teams role. The Patriots have been using standard elevations from the practice squad on linebacker body types all season long to fill specific roles in the kicking game. Rice is the latest to get the call-up after New England burned through standard elevations for similar players like Ochaun Mathis and Keshawn Banks, among others. Assuming he fills the role well, Rice could be elevated in each of the final three games to get the Patriots through the season on special teams.
Lastly, the hope was that the Patriots would get third-round rookie OT Caedan Wallace back at some point this season. Wallace, a big piece to the Pats rebuilding offensive line, will miss his 11th consecutive game due to a significant high-ankle sprain. As the 68th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Wallace could be a future starter, but he won't return this week. The team has until Dec. 30 to activate Wallace, or his season is over.
According to offensive line coach Scott Peters, Wallace has been practicing exclusively at right tackle since returning to practice on Dec. 9. In college, Wallace made 40 starts at right tackle for Penn State, coming into his own as a top-100 prospect in his final season in Happy Valley. When they drafted Wallace, the Pats initially planned to see if the 24-year-old could transition to left tackle in the NFL. However, Wallace finding a permanent home on the right side was more likely.
Based on head coach Jerod Mayo's comments earlier this week, the expectation is that the Patriots will start the same five along the offensive line as last week in Arizona. Coach Mayo implied that former first-rounder Cole Strange won't be inserted into the starting lineup, with current C Ben Brown keeping the gig. The same seems to be true for RT Trey Jacobs, who allowed just one hurry vs. the Cardinals last Sunday. Still, at some point, you'd like to see Strange and Wallace get an opportunity to showcase their skills before the season ends. If either shows well, they could be a part of the team's future plans.
After placing DT Christian Barmore on the reserve/non-football illness list earlier this week, the Patriots had two open spots on the 53-man roster. They filled one open spot by signing Jennings to the active roster. However, they'll go into Sunday's game vs. the Bills with only 52 players. The plan is for the Patriots to be competitive vs. the AFC East champion Bills on Sunday. Buffalo is a 14-point favorite over New England, so winning outright is a lofty goal. But a moral victory in the way of a competitive loss would say something about the direction of head coach Jerod Mayo's program after a tough loss in Arizona off the bye week.
The Patriots face the Bills at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
