MUNICH – The Patriots are inching closer to game day in Munich, and New England has made its final tweaks to its roster for Sunday's game vs. the Lions at Allianz Stadium.
On Saturday, the Patriots activated C/G Greg Van Roten (hamstring) and FB Reggie Gilliam (knee) from injured reserve and elevated G Andrew Rupcich from the practice squad for Week 10. To make room for their activations, RB TreVeyon Henderson (illness) was placed on injured reserve. Henderson will miss at least four games.
New England has used five of its eight regular-season IR-return designations, with Gilliam and Van Roten returning. There's a strong possibility WR Romeo Doubs (shoulder) and LG Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) will also return at some point this season, maybe as soon after the Patriots Week 11 bye.
Before we get into the moves the Patriots made, a move New England didn't make is very telling. The Patriots didn't elevate RB Terrell Jennings from the practice squad, signaling that top RB Rhamondre Stevenson has a good chance of playing on Sunday. The Pats projected running backs are Corey Kiner, Lan Larison, and Stevenson.
Stevenson traveled with the team to Germany and practiced in a limited capacity over the last two days. Reports indicated that the Pats lead back would miss games, but the Pats RB1 has been pushing to play through his knee injury. Stevenson has been a core contributor as a runner and in passing situations, where he's also a standout pass-blocker for the Patriots offense.
As for Gilliam, the Patriots free-agent addition at fullback has been managing his knee injury since training camp. After some ineffectiveness earlier in the season, the Pats opted to shut Gilliam down for the last five games to help him get healthy. If he can be a more effective lead blocker, Gilliam could provide a boost to a struggling Patriots offense from under center. This season, the Patriots rank 26th in EPA when Maye is under center (-0.14).
The lack of under-center rushing success has led to New England having issues generating big plays off play-action. The Pats have only dialed up play-action at a 21.9% clip, 24th in the NFL, while ranking 31st in EPA per play-action attempt (-0.36). If the Patriots fullback is now healthy, returning to two-back runs with Gilliam as a lead blocker could awaken New England's under-center offense and take some pressure off the drop-back passing game.
Along the offensive line, Van Roten is back on the active roster following a six-game absence. The last time we saw the veteran interior offensive lineman was in Week 3 in Jacksonville, when he played the first 22 snaps as the starting right guard vs. the Jaguars. Van Roten, who had started every game in each of the previous three seasons for the Giants and Raiders, is now in line to start for the Patriots at left guard vs. the Lions on Sunday.
New England is tracking toward starting its sixth different offensive line combination in its first 10 games due to numerous injuries at both guard spots. Although Vera-Tucker could return from injured reserve soon, top RG Mike Onwenu is likely out for the season with an ankle injury, while Van Roten and backup C/G Ben Brown (knee) have also missed games. The 36-year-old veteran will likely replace Brown at left guard, who was ruled out earlier this week.
Although he was a solid starter over the last three years, Van Roten struggled earlier this season. While briefly replacing Onwenu at right guard in Weeks 2-3, Van Roten allowed three quarterback pressures on 33 pass-blocking snaps. The hope is the veteran will be a more stabilizing presence in his second stint as a starter. The Patriots projected starting offensive line vs. the Lions on Sunday is LT Will Campbell, LG Greg Van Roten, C Jared Wilson, RG Matt Pryor, and RT Morgan Moses in front of QB Drake Maye.
Lastly, the Patriots elevated Rupcich as depth on the interior offensive line with G Walter Rouse (concussion) listed as questionable. Rupcich's elevation suggests that Rouse might still be in concussion protocol and could miss Sunday's game. Rupcich would be the Pats top interior backup with Caleb Lomu and Marcus Bryant as tackle depth.
With the Patriots game-day roster at 54 players, New England will need to declare four additional players as inactives. The Pats have ruled out CB Carlton Davis III (knee) and C/G Ben Brown (knee). There's also a chance that Rouse will be inactive, leaving rookie QB Behren Morton (emergency QB) and two other players to fill out the Patriots game-day inactive list this week.
The Patriots and Lions will square off at Allianz Stadium in Munich at 9:30 am ET on Sunday.
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
