Patriots place P Bryce Baringer on injured reserve, add Mitch Wishnowsky to practice squad

The New England Patriots will begin the regular season with a different punting setup after placing veteran punter Bryce Baringer on injured reserve. Baringer suffered an injury during the team’s final preseason game, and the move was made Monday, setting up a new operational plan at a position that can swing field position for every series.

New England also did not elevate a punter onto the 53-man roster in the immediate aftermath of Baringer’s injury. Instead, the Patriots added Mitch Wishnowsky to the practice squad, a transaction that reflects both urgency and caution as the team prepares for its season opener and evaluates internal options.

Wishnowsky arrives after being released by the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. That timing matters because it gives the Patriots a recently used specialist who has been in game-week football environments, even if his role with New England is initially limited to practice reps rather than Sunday availability.

For a team, punting is more than the act itself. The timing of the snap, the hang time, coverage alignment, and the ability to adapt to different field and weather conditions often depend on repetition. With Baringer unavailable, the Patriots will need to build that rhythm with their replacement plan quickly, and practice squad usage suggests the team is balancing readiness with roster flexibility.

The Patriots’ next steps will likely hinge on how quickly their punter unit can synchronize during practices, including protection look recognition and the exchange between punter and long snapper. While Wishnowsky’s signing indicates the organization has a clear short-term staffing solution, it does not eliminate the possibility of further adjustments if the situation evolves.

For Buffalo, Wishnowsky’s release creates an offseason question about depth at punter and the approach to special teams depth going into the regular season. For New England, the focus remains straightforward: establish a reliable punting plan early enough to reduce the downstream impact that can come from inconsistent field-position sequences.

As the Patriots progress into Week 1 preparation, the key detail to watch is whether the practice squad addition remains purely developmental or expands into a broader role, depending on how the team’s punting work looks in practice and what other roster moves, if any, follow Baringer’s injured reserve placement.