The New England Patriots’ active roster underwent several modifications on the eve of the team’s Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Wide receiver Mack Hollins and fullback Reggie Gilliam were both placed on injured reserve, with safety and special teamer Brenden Schooler and cornerback Kindle Vildor taking their. spots on the 53-man team.
The Patriots also elevated linebacker K.J. Britt and safety Elliott Davison from the practice squad for the Raiders game, but our focus for now lies on the other
four transactions. Let’s break down what they mean.
FB Reggie Gilliam: Placed on IR
While other moves received more attention, signing Gilliam to a three-year, $10.8 million contract in free agency was no insignificant investment by the Patriots either. Making him the highest-paid fullback in the NFL in terms of total contract value showed that the team had big plans for him on both offense and special teams.
Those plans, however, need to be shelved for the foreseeable future. Now on injured reserve after previously dealing with knee and ankle issues, Gilliam will be out for at least four games. The Patriots already ruled out for the Raiders game on Friday, and in addition won’t have him available against the New York Jets, Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins — at least on paper a comparatively easy stretch of games.
Still, the Patriots won’t be without their only fullback over those four games. How big the on-field impact will actually be, however, can be questioned: New England’s run game had struggled even with him on the active roster, and Gilliam himself had played merely 22% of offense snaps thus far (plus 41% on special teams).
He wasn’t necessarily bad, but it was clear that his role within the unit — just like New England’s run game as a whole — was a work in progress. That progress now takes a hit with the 29-year-old not eligible to return to practice until early November.
In addition, going back to the investment mentioned earlier, Gilliam becomes the fourth serious offseason addition to be placed on injured reserve. Tight end Julian Hill was the first to go there and will miss the remainder of the season, while wide receiver A.J. Brown, offensive lineman Greg Van Roten and now Gilliam are eligible to come off of IR at a later point.
How will the team replace him, though? There is a chance it won’t, and will use a tight end such as undrafted rookie Tanner Arkin as a fullback/H-back hybrid — a role he partially played over the summer. They also could decide to bring back second-year FB Brock Lampe, an undrafted rookie signing in 2025 who was cut ahead of training camp and currently is on the Bills’ practice squad.
WR Mack Hollins: Placed on IR
The Efton Chism Show is bound to continue — that is one of the takeaways of Mack Hollins moving to injured reserve after sustaining a calf injury versus his ex-team, the Bills, last Sunday.
Chism did perform well and his teammates and coaches sang his praises since he made two big catches, including a one-handed touchdown from 23 yards out that capped the game-winning drive, in Buffalo. The second-year man being in a position to do so was a direct result of Hollins’ departure, and all signs point toward the arrangement continuing now that the veteran is on IR.
This also means, however, that the Patriots are now down two of their top four wideouts entering the season: the aforementioned A.J. Brown remains on IR at least until next week, with Hollins now joining him. As a consequence, New England’s receiver corps now looks like this:
53-man roster (4): Romeo Doubs (87), DeMario Douglas (3), Kyle Williams (18 | KR), Efton Chism III (86)
Practice squad (3): Kyle Dixon (83), Cameron Dorner (88), Chandler Brayboy (81)
IR (3): A.J. Brown (1), Mack Hollins (13), Jeremiah Webb (29 | season-ending)
Needless to say, what looked like an embarrassment of riches at one point in training camp has quickly started to deteriorate. Getting Brown, the nominal WR1, back will give the group a natural boost; the same is true for Drake Maye and Romeo Doubs continuing to develop their chemistry. Still, this is a position that can hardly afford to take any more hits.
Could this mean the Patriots are the mystery team to trade for Marvin Harrison Jr. now that the Cardinals are reportedly finalizing a move of the former first-round draft pick? Nothing can ever be ruled out, but this would still come out of left field and might be a bit too reactionary for a club already having invested serious resources in both 2026 and beyond at the wide receiver position.
CB Kindle Vildor: Promoted to 53-man roster
After already promoting one defensive back from the practice squad to the active roster earlier in the week — safety Mike Brown — the Patriots have now also brought up Kindle Vildor.
The veteran being part of the game day roster against the Raiders was expected after the team ruled out four cornerbacks, including starters Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis. However, instead of using his second of three standard elevations, he now has officially become the seventh CB on the 53-man team:
53-man roster (7): Christian Gonzalez (0), Carlton Davis III (7), Marcus Jones (25 | PR), Charles Woods (22), Channing Canada (29), Karon Prunty (21), Kindle Vildor (28)
Practice squad (1): Al’zillion Hamilton (26)
The Patriots promoting Vildor does not only save those remaining two practice squad elevations should he return to the developmental roster at one point, it also comes with a pay increase and adds some more experience to New England’s CB room: Vildor has played in 86 combined regular season and playoff games since entering the league in 2020 as an undrafted free agent.
This experience allowed him to step in last week versus Buffalo after Charles Woods, who was replacing Christian Gonzalez in the lineup, briefly departed with a shoulder injury. With Woods himself on the injury report as questionable, Vildor’s presence now also means that the Patriots have two fully-healthy CBs on their active team now. And if the Patriots are forced to use him, which seems likely given that they are down Gonzalez, Davis, Channing Canada and Karon Prunty, it is clear that they have some faith in him.
“Kindle is the ultimate pro,” said defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr earlier this week. “Didn’t bat an eye, got in there, challenged. He’s a vet, so I think he’s got some different styles he’s used. He’s brought a great presence even since OTAs, and if he has to be the one to go in there, then we’ll be excited about it.”
S Brenden Schooler: Activated off NFI
The writing was already on the wall, and on Friday head coach Mike Vrabel effectively confirmed that Brenden Schooler would be activated before the game against the Raiders. After opening the season on the non-football injury list with a back ailment, the 2025 special teams captain is now back on the team.
Whether he will return to his status as captain will be seen, but the actual on-field impact is what’s most important. And the Patriots should feel his presence right away, especially as a gunner on the punt team — a role that was, rather unusually, filled by rookie linebacker Erick Hunter last week in Buffalo. Hunter performed decently well, but Schooler is an All-Pro at that position and elsewhere in the kicking game.
The trickle-down effect of his return could therefore be felt across the board, and in turn free up some players to play expanded roles elsewhere or simply get a few more snaps off between offensive or defensive series.
With Schooler now joining Vildor on the active roster, and with neither Hollins nor Gilliam on it at the moment, the Patriots still have one spot open. They additionally also have a spot open on the practice squad now that Vildor has been promoted. How those spots will be used is unclear at the moment, but with A.J. Brown’s return looming in the distance the team might just keep the one on the 53-man team open for the time being.
