The Patriots go into their final preseason game of the summer on Thursday night with a handful of players still dealing with injuries, whether old or new. One of the more recent players to suffer a setback is punter Bryce Baringer, who didn't suit up for last week's game against the Eagles.
Instead, rookie quarterback Behren Morton shockingly took the field as the punter, as his experience from high school became a game-saver for the Patriots.
After the game, Mike Vrabel said Baringer wasn't feeling great in warm-ups, so they decided it was best to keep him sidelined. We now know it was some sort of injury, prompting the team to sign a new punter almost immediately, and he will now be their go-to against the Browns on Thursday night.
Matt Haack, a 32-year-old veteran who has spent time with six teams throughout his career, is almost certainly going to have the opportunity to be New England's punter for the start of the regular season. Because we don't know the severity of Baringer's injury, Haack could replace him in the meantime, if not permanently.
Bryce Baringer's preseason injury could force the Patriots to keep a new punter on the team
Over the years, the Patriots have struggled to find the perfect punter after Bill Belichick moved on from Ryan Allen after the 2018 season. What once looked like Jake Bailey's job for the foreseeable future quickly became a disaster, and the team scrambled to find someone who didn't put them in a worse position on game day.
Eventually, that led them to draft Baringer in 2023, and he looked like he could solve one of their biggest problems. But his performance has become inconsistent over the past year, leading many to wonder whether he would be replaced ahead of the upcoming season.
A few punters were brought in during the offseason to bring the competition, none of whom fared better than Baringer. But now that he's injured, Haack was signed, and with his veteran experience, he could impress enough to keep Baringer on the bench for a bit longer.
He hasn't played an entire season in the role since 2022, which is concerning and could create problems if he's more of a liability than an asset for the Patriots' special teams.
However, his performance on the field has been solid, and that's all they need while Baringer deals with his injury. And if Haack impresses, it could put him in the hot seat.
It's not exactly the kind of thing any player wants to deal with when they're rehabbing from an injury, yet it's the reality of the NFL, and it wouldn't be unfair to say Baringer was already looking questionable before he was sidelined.
Now it'll be up to Haack to prove he was the right guy to fill in, and maybe, even moving forward.
Add us as a preferred source on Google