SEATTLE - The New England Patriots made two last-minute roster calls before their matchup with the Seattle Seahawks, elevating running back Lan Larison and punter Mitch Wishnowsky from the practice squad to the active roster.
The moves were triggered in part by TreVeyon Henderson being ruled out with an ankle injury. Henderson rolled his ankle on Aug. 24 and has not practiced since, which bumps everyone else on the running back depth chart up a spot.
For Larison, the promotion is a chance to re-enter game action after a summer that never quite settled into a clear path. He was in the mix for the third running back job alongside Terrell Jennings, Jam Miller, Hassan Haskins and JaMycal Hasty before the Patriots traded for Corey Kiner and let Larison go. He later returned on the practice squad and is one of two running backs there, along with Haskins.
Larison finished the preseason with 118 total scrimmage yards and one touchdown, and he ranked second on the team with nine receptions. He also missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury.
Even with Henderson unavailable, Larison may not see much work on offense. The Patriots are expected to lean heavily on Rhamondre Stevenson, and Mike Vrabel made it clear that the backfield has multiple layers to it.
"I think Rhamondre, the way that he finished the year, that was exciting," head coach Mike Vrabel said. "Corey, we talked about him when we traded for him that he was a player that we had looked at trying to get last year coming out.
It didn't work out. He's a good young runner.
We've kept Lan here, giving him an opportunity to be on the practice squad. ... So, there's a little bit of everything."
Larison did spend plenty of preseason snaps in the kick return game, though, and that could be his best path to contributing Wednesday night. The Patriots still have not named a clear-cut kick returner, and that was a problem area for them a year ago. If Larison can help there, it could give him a real route to hanging around.
Wishnowsky’s elevation was more straightforward. The Patriots needed another punter after incumbent starter Bryce Baringer left the second preseason game with an undisclosed lower-body injury.
They brought in Matt Haack for the final preseason game against Cleveland, and he looked good enough to stay in the conversation. But the Patriots released Haack on cutdown day, kept Baringer on the initial 53-man roster, and then moved him to injured reserve.
That left Wishnowsky, who the Patriots signed to the practice squad, as the next man up. Special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer praised the veteran’s experience.
“(He's) a veteran guy that's been around the league for a while,” special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said. “Seen a lot of football.
Mature. ... It's good to work with him right now.”
Wishnowsky, 34, has been in the NFL since 2019 and has spent time with three teams. Most recently, he was with the Buffalo Bills and punted 38 times for 1,723 yards last year.
Baringer is set to remain on IR for at least the first four games, so Wishnowsky is likely to be elevated week after week until Baringer is ready to return. The Patriots are also dealing with the reality of Seattle’s loud crowd, something Springer highlighted last month as a setting where having an experienced punter matters.
These are the first practice squad elevations for both Larison and Wishnowsky. Players can be elevated three times on game day before having to clear waivers; if they do, they can re-sign to the practice squad and get up to three more elevations. In Wishnowsky’s case, with Baringer out until at least Week 5, he’ll likely return to the practice squad after the Patriots face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3.
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