Baringer Is Gone, and Special Teams Just Joined the List

The Patriots released punter Bryce Baringer on Monday, parting ways with a player who had held the job for three seasons. He's a fourth-year player, not a franchise cornerstone, but the timing is notable: this is a roster that has been shedding pieces at a steady clip, and special teams had been one of the quieter corners of the building.

The move comes in the same week New England re-signed edge rusher Jose Ramirez to the practice squad and watched Alijah Vera-Tucker go to injured reserve for the fourth time in his career. Romeo Doubs is already on IR. The offensive line started replacements in Chicago and lost anyway. The attrition has been relentless enough that even a punter change registers as something worth noting.

The Patriots are 4-3, half a game from the last wild-card spot, with 10 games left. Most of those roster fires have been on the offensive and defensive sides. Special teams had been, until now, a relatively stable corner of the operation — training camp coverage even flagged it as a sign of organizational confidence. That's a smaller thing to lose than a starting guard, but it's one more thing.