The Patriots are moving on from their longtime punter.
According to the NFL Network, the Patriots are releasing veteran Bryce Baringer. The team’s punter from the last three seasons, Baringer was in line to start this season in the same role before suffering an injury this preseason.
Baringer had been on the Patriots injured reserve. That led to the team signing veteran punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who now officially takes over the team’s full-time punter position.
“I certainly appreciate what Bryce has been able to do for us. Those are tough decisions,” Mike Vrabel said. “I don’t think those are things that you necessarily take lightly, but once you kind of get the specialists and the snap or the hold and all the stuff that they do, and we just felt like this was best for us and best for Bryce and give him an opportunity to kind of go punt and see if somebody needs a punter and if we would need him back and he was there that we would want to have him back.
“It’s just you kind of make a decision with a specialist, and as long as it’s going well, which I think it is and everybody else does, you kind of just stick with it.”
Baringer was a sixth-round pick by the Patriots in 2023. He was a solid, stable punter over the previous three seasons, replacing Jake Bailey. He started his career with a punt of at least 50 yards in each of his first 26 games. It was the longest active streak in the NFL.
Baringer suffered a lower-body injury in the Patriots’ second preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The team signed veteran punter Matt Haack for their preseason finale. The Patriots released Haack on cut-down day and signed Wishnowsky to the practice squad.
The Patriots eventually signed Wishnowsky to their active roster in September. In seven games, he’s averaged 47.1 yards per punt and has punted 45.5% of his punts inside the 20-yard line.
“I think he gets it off quickly. I think the plus 50s have improved,” Vrabel said of Wishnowsky. “Got different punts and different kicks that he uses and I think he’s been pretty consistent. I think the hang time has been pretty good.”
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