The Patriots’ 53-man roster didn’t even make it through a full day before Mike Vrabel and his staff started reshaping it.
On Monday, New England claimed tight end Cameron Latu and linebacker Darius Muasau off waivers, released offensive lineman Ben Brown and linebacker K.J. Britt, and placed linebacker Khalil Jacobs and punter Bryce Baringer on injured reserve. That leaves the Patriots two players short of the league-mandated roster limit, with the expectation that those openings will be filled through the waiver wire.
The biggest ripple might come at tight end, where the top of the depth chart already looked settled with Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon. The real question was whether undrafted rookie Tanner Arkin had done enough to stick as the third option.
He had appeared to be in position for that role, but Latu’s arrival changes the math. A 2023 third-round pick, Latu brings a similar skill set as an in-line blocker and part-time fullback, which creates more competition behind Henry and Raridon and could force the Patriots to revisit Arkin’s spot on the roster.
There’s also movement along the interior offensive line. Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson and Mike Onwenu were locked in as the starters, while Brown had been the trusted backup who could step in for any of the three.
That picture changed after Brown’s preseason opener injury against the Colts, which didn’t land him on injured reserve to begin the year but did lead New England to add veteran Greg Van Roten. Brown still made the roster on Sunday before being released Monday, a surprising turn given that he signed a two-year, $5 million extension last year.
The expectation is that Brown will return in some form, and for now the Patriots appear comfortable leaning on Van Roten and recent trade pickup Walter Rouse as the fourth and fifth linemen behind the starting trio.
At linebacker, the churn continues. New England had already raised eyebrows by keeping five off-ball linebackers, and that group has now been trimmed and reshaped again.
Britt is gone, Jacobs is on injured reserve for at least the first four weeks, and Muasau is in as added depth behind Robert Spillane, Christian Elliss and sixth-round rookie Namdi Obiazor. Muasau, a sixth-round pick in 2024, played 27 games for the Giants and logged 890 defensive snaps over two seasons.
His background with Patriots defensive staff members Zak Kuhr and Shane Bowen made him a natural fit for the kind of experience New England wanted behind Spillane and Elliss. The move also signals that the team did not trust Britt or Obiazor for that role.
Special teams clearly mattered in these additions, too. With only 46 players available on game day, depth pieces have to help in multiple phases, and both Latu and Muasau fit that bill.
Latu has played 271 kicking game snaps in his career and handled all four core units - kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage - during his 2025 season in Philadelphia. Muasau has 340 special teams snaps on his résumé and has also worked on the field goal and extra point block teams.
The punter situation remains unsettled, but Baringer’s injury now defines the conversation. His injury in the Patriots’ second preseason game against the Eagles briefly pushed third-string quarterback and former high school kicker Behren Morton into punting duties, though Morton’s stint there was always going to be temporary.
New England signed Matt Haack soon after to cover the position through the end of preseason, and Haack looked solid before being released ahead of the cutdown deadline. The Patriots then added veteran Mitch Wishnowsky to the practice squad as a possible answer while Baringer sits on injured reserve.
For now, Wishnowsky looks like the leading candidate, though Haack could still come back into the mix depending on how the next few practices unfold. What’s certain is that Baringer will miss at least the first four weeks of the season.
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