Patriots elevate four players from practice squad, place lineman on IR
The Patriots will officially be without four of their five starting linemen when they face the Texans on Sunday. In order for Isaiah Wynn or Michael Onwenu to be eligible to play, they had to be activated from COVID-IR by Saturday’s 4 p.m. deadline, which has since passed.
In addition to Wynn and Onwenu, the Patriots will also be without Shaq Mason (abdomen) and Trent Brown (calf), who were ruled out on Friday. According to ESPN’s Field Yates Brown was also placed on IR, meaning he’ll have to miss at least three more games, including Sunday. Brown hasn’t played since suffering the injury on the Patriots’ first drive of the season.
Because the Patriots have two players on IR, they are able to elevate two additional players from the practice squad as COVID elevations, along with the two weekly standard elevations. Guard Alex Redmond and hybrid guard/tackle Will Sherman are the standard elevations, while guard James Ferentz and defensive back Myles Bryant are the COVID replacements, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
This is the first elevation of the season for Redmond, Sherman, and Ferentz. For Redmond and Sherman, it will be their Patriots debut. Redmond signed with the team late in free agency after four years with the Cincinnati Bengals, while Sherman was a sixth-round pick in April’s NFL Draft. Ferentz has played in 24 games for the Patriots since joining the team in 2017, splitting his time between the active roster and practice squad.
Meanwhile, this will be the second time Bryant will be active for a game this season. The second-year player out of Washington played nine snaps last week against Tampa, but could be in for a larger role with Jalen Mills (hamstring) ruled out for this game.
MORE: What will the Patriots’ starting offensive line look like against Houston?
Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].
