The Patriots opened their 2026 season on Wednesday night against the Seahawks without their full wide receiver group, and Efton Chism was the odd man out.
Chism was listed as a healthy scratch for the opener in Seattle, a sign that the second-year receiver had slipped into a backup role after spending the summer as New England’s last option among roster-caliber wideouts. He still got regular run with the starting offense around Drake Maye, particularly as a fill-in when injuries forced the team to shuffle pieces, but with everyone else available for Week 1, there was no spot for him in the game plan.
That leaves Chism among seven Patriots inactives for the night.
Patriots inactives
QB3 Behren Morton
RB TreVeyon Henderson
WR Efton Chism III
OL Ben Brown
OL Walter Rouse
LB Erick Hunter
CB Karon Prunty
New England already had two players ruled out before kickoff. Henderson, who injured his ankle in practice on Aug. 24, made the trip to Seattle but never got to a point where he could play. Brown, dealing with a knee injury, stayed back in Foxborough from the start.
The rest of the inactive group is made up of healthy scratches. Morton is serving as the emergency quarterback, while Rouse, Hunter, and Prunty are still at the stage where the Patriots don’t believe they can help yet at their spots.
On Seattle’s side, the biggest name sitting out is safety Nick Emmanwori. He was listed as questionable with an ankle injury, and his absence, along with Ty Okada’s, leaves the Seahawks leaning on their safety depth Wednesday night.
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