The Patriots have used their open 53-man roster spot on Lan Larison, and the move does more than simply plug a hole ahead of Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
Larison, a second-year running back who began the season on the practice squad, is now on the active roster. With TreVeyon Henderson out because of the illness that kept him from practicing Thursday and Friday, New England’s backfield needed another body for the week. Rather than rely on a practice squad elevation, the Patriots made the promotion permanent.
That gives the team a fuller running back group on paper: Rhamondre Stevenson, Henderson, Corey Kiner and Larison.
There’s a practical reason to make the move now. Larison had already been elevated for game day once, leaving him with only two standard elevations available.
That number was set to drop to one this weekend anyway. By putting him on the 53-man roster, the Patriots remove that limitation entirely.
The addition also matters on special teams. New England has not gotten much out of its kickoff return unit this season, entering Week 8 ranked 25th in the league in average kickoff return yards at 24.9 and 27th in starting field position at 28.5.
Larison is not expected to suddenly transform that area. He averaged 24.5 yards on his two kickoff returns earlier this year, which is better than Kyle Williams’ 24.0 but behind Corey Kiner’s 26.7.
Even so, he gives the Patriots another experienced option. He handled that job regularly during training camp, and that kind of familiarity can matter when a team is trying to keep the workload manageable.
That flexibility could become important because New England is thin at both running back and wide receiver, and may need Kiner and Williams on offense.
The roster move also comes with a small ripple effect in the background as the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaches. So far, the only Patriots player mentioned as a possible trade candidate has been defensive tackle Christian Barmore. Henderson has not been added to that conversation, though the new depth at running back naturally invites the question.
There are reasons someone could wonder about Henderson’s future, including what the source described as his rather uninspiring output so far in his sophomore campaign. If he is not making real progress in key areas, the argument would be to move on sooner rather than later before his value slips any further.
But that remains speculation. The Patriots still appear to believe in Henderson and what he can bring to the offense.
“TreVeyon will help us plenty here down the stretch,” said head coach Mike Vrabel last week. There is no indication this wasn’t a sincere statement.
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