Seattle, Wash. – The Patriots are gearing up to open the 2026 season with a Super Bowl LX rematch vs. the Seahawks on Wednesday night and have finalized their game-day roster.

Along with declaring seven players as inactive, the Patriots elevated RB Lan Larison and P Mitch Wishnowsky from the practice squad. Larison gets the nod after just missing out on a 53-man roster spot to serve as the third running back with Henderson inactive in Week 1. Larison will make his NFL debut while Wishnowsky was elevated this week with top P Bryce Baringer beginning the season on injured reserve. The Patriots game-day inactives are RB TreVeyon Henderson (ankle), C/G Ben Brown (knee), WR Efton Chism III, OT Walter Rouse, LB Erick Hunter, CB Karon Prunty, and QB Behren Morton (emergency QB).

Starting with the offense, the Patriots ruled out their explosive second-year running back due to his ankle injury that Henderson suffered in practice on Aug. 24. Henderson hasn't practiced since injuring his ankle and a timeline for his return to play is unknown. Last season, the 38th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft led the Patriots in scrimmage yards (1,132) and total touchdowns (10). Henderson also led the team in explosive runs of 15-plus yards with 10, bringing a big-play element that's difficult to replicate in his absence.

That said, New England mostly leaned on RB Rhamondre Stevenson down the stretch last season, with head coach Mike Vrabel praising Stevenson as a pass-blocker earlier this week. Given how Seattle effectively blitzed the Patriots in the Super Bowl, one would think that the Pats were going to feature Stevenson as the lead back regardless of Henderson's availability. The veteran running back had another strong camp as a do-it-all threat out of the backfield and is the better pass blocker of the two.

Playing the season-opener without Henderson still takes a big-play threat off the field and shines a light on the Patriots depth at running back. New England was only carrying three backs on its 53-man roster, with newcomer Corey Kiner joining Henderson and Stevenson via a cutdown weekend trade on Aug. 29. Seeing that Kiner has only been in the building for 10 days, it brings into question whether or not he'll be ready for a large role. The former Cardinal has potential as a one-cut runner with low-center-of-gravity power between the tackles and has also returned kickoffs. But how up to speed is he in the Pats system?

Depending on how up to speed Kiner is, the Patriots could turn to the second-year Larison to spell Stevenson in the backfield. Larison looked the part of a gun-run, sub-package back who can make plays as a receiver out of the backfield in the preseason. Vrabel praised him for "gritty" short-yardage runs and standing up to blitzers in pass protection while the former undrafted free agent also trained on multiple special teams units, including returning kickoffs in the preseason.

QB Drake Maye's Projected Supporting Cast vs. Seahawks

RB - Stevenson, Kiner, Larison

WR - Brown, Doubs, Douglas, Hollins, Williams

TE/FB - Henry, Raridon, Gilliam (FB), Arkin, Latu

OL - LT Campbell, LG Vera-Tucker, C Wilson, RG Onwenu, RT Moses

Along with the Patriots running back situation, New England had six wide receivers on the 53-man roster who had a case to be active. On Wednesday night, backup slot receiver/returner Efton Chism III is the odd man out. Chism was behind WR DeMario Douglas, who is the featured slot receiver in three-receiver sets alongside A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs, so it was hard to envision Chism having a role on offense. However, there was some thought to having Chism return kickoffs. Instead, speedy second-year wideout Kyle Williams and either Larison or Kiner could be the Pats top kick returners.

The rest of QB Drake Maye's supporting cast is intact for Wednesday night's opener. The Pats offensive line depth will include veteran C/G Greg Van Roten (Ben Brown replacement) and rookie tackles Caleb Lomu and Dametrious Crownover. Lomu could factor into the game plan as a jumbo tight end in six O-Line packages. New England also has all four tight ends and FB Reggie Gilliam active for Week 1.

Moving over to the other side of the ball, it's the Seahawks defense that had the injury question marks heading into the season-opener, not the Patriots. New England's defense has a clean bill of health with only Brown and Henderson carrying game statuses on the team's final injury report. However, Seattle ruled out starting S Ty Okada (hamstring) and listed star defender Nick Emmanwori (ankle) as questionable for Wednesday night's contest – Emmanwori is officially inactive for the Seahawks.

Emmanwori is recovering from offseason ankle surgery that stems from an injury he suffered during Super Bowl week last February. He was activated off the PUP list on Aug. 11 and has been limited in recent practices. Emmanwori is a key chess piece for Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald's defense as a hybrid defender who can play in the box or in the slot. His presence allows Seattle to stop the run effectively out of lighter personnel packages – a huge loss for the Seahawks defense.

Along with Emmanwori's absence, the Seahawks were expecting Okada (inactive) to replace offseason departure S Coby Bryant, while they also lost starting CB Riq Woolen in free agency. Bryant led all Seahawks defenders with 977 snaps in 2025, giving them the flexibility to play three safeties, which allows Emmanwori and CB Devon Witherspoon to roam around the secondary. With the Seahawks secondary down a few layers of depth due to offseason departures and injuries, their pass defense could be more vulnerable. If, and it's a big if, the Patriots offensive line can survive the matchup in the trenches, Maye and the Pats receivers should have more success throwing the ball than they did in February.

Lastly, it's worth noting the punter swap for the Patriots, with Wishnowsky filling in for Baringer. Wishnowsky will obviously handle punting duties in the game but he'll also be the holder for K Andy Borregales on field goals and extra points. Borregales went 2-for-5 on field goal attempts with a new long-snapper in the Patriots preseason opener but settled down once LS Julian Ashby returned. The Pats will also have changes to their coverage units with turnover to the back end of their roster against a very dangerous returner in Rashid Shaheed and they haven't declared who their kickoff returners will be yet.

The Patriots and Seahawks are set to kickoff the 2026 NFL season at Lumen Field in Seattle at 8:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday night.

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DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer