The New England Patriots are going big against the Seattle Seahawks. As a look at their game day roster for the Week 1 contest shows, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel opted to make all four of its tight ends plus fullback Reggie Gilliam active for the Wednesday night showdown.
There could be a variety of reasons for that. One is the team’s desire to establish a consistent presence on the ground, something the Patriots failed to do in their Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks back in February. In addition,
Tanner Arkin and Cameron Latu in particular could help shore up the protection in front of Drake Maye — a crucial area for New England going against one of the most disruptive defensive lines in football.
The Patriots’ full game day roster for the conference title game looks as follows.
Patriots game day roster: Week 1 vs. Seahawks
Quarterback (2): Drake Maye (10), Tommy DeVito (16)
Running back (3): Rhamondre Stevenson (38), Corey Kiner (9), Lan Larison (34 | PS elevation)
Fullback (1): Reggie Gilliam (44)
Wide receiver (5): A.J. Brown (1), Romeo Doubs (87), DeMario Douglas (3), Mack Hollins (13), Kyle Williams (18)
Tight end (4): Hunter Henry (85), Eli Raridon (82), Tanner Arkin (84), Cameron Latu (36)
Offensive tackle (4): Will Campbell (66 | LT), Morgan Moses (76 | RT), Caleb Lomu (74), Dametrious Crownover (68)
Interior offensive line (4): Alijah Vera-Tucker (75 | LG), Jared Wilson (55 | C), Mike Onwenu (71 | RG), Greg Van Roten (70)
Interior defensive line (5): Milton Williams (97), Christian Barmore (90), Cory Durden (94), Joshua Farmer (92), Leonard Taylor III (93)
Defensive edge (4): Dre’Mont Jones (5), Elijah Ponder (91), Gabe Jacas (50), Quintayvious Hutchins (45)
Linebacker (4): Robert Spillane (14), Christian Elliss (53), Namdi Obiazor (48), Darius Muasau (54)
Cornerback (5): Christian Gonzalez (0), Carlton Davis III (7), Marcus Jones (25 | PR), Charles Woods (22), Channing Canada (29)
Safety (4): Kevin Byard (31), Craig Woodson (4), Jaylen Reed (23), Dell Pettus (24)
Specialists (3): Andy Borregales (8 | K), Mitch Wishnowsky (19 | P | PS elevation), Julian Ashby (47 | LS)
The aforementioned Tanner Arkin is one of nine players on the Patriots’ game day roster to make their NFL debuts on Wednesday. The others are fellow rookies TE Eli Raridon, OT Caleb Lomu, OT Dametrious Crownover, ED Gabe Jacas, ED Quintayvious Hutchins, LB Namdi Obiazor and CB Channing Canada. Sophomore running back Lan Larison, who was promoted from the practice squad, has also never played in an NFL game.
As for Canada, he gets the nod over fellow rookie Karon Prunty as the fifth cornerback. Special teams might have played a role in that: the UDFA spent time as a gunner in preseason and with Brenden Schooler on the NFI list looks like the potential next man up.
Patriots reserves
Inactives (7): QB3 Behren Morton (15), RB TreVeyon Henderson (32), WR Efton Chism III (86), OL Ben Brown (77), OL Walter Rouse (72), LB Erick Hunter (49), CB Karon Prunty (21)
Practice squad (15): RB Hassan Haskins (26), WR Kyle Dixon (83), WR Cameron Dorner (88), TE Shane Zylstra (80), OT Lorenz Metz (61 | exempt), OL Jake Kubas (63), OL Jacob Rizy (64), DT Eric Gregory (95), DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (98), ED Jose Ramirez (43), LB K.J. Britt (35), LB Riley Wilson (51), CB Kindle Vildor (28), S Mike Brown (33), S Elliott Davison (27)
Injured reserve (6): TE Julian Hill (80), WR Jeremiah Webb (29), RB Myles Montgomery (39), OT Marcus Bryant (52 | short-term), LB Khalil Jacobs (59 | short-term), P Bryce Baringer (17 | short-term)
NFI/reserve (1): S Brenden Schooler (41)
PUP/reserve (1): ED Harold Landry (2)
The Patriots already ruled out running back TreVeyon Henderson on Tuesday, who together with offensive lineman Ben Brown is the only non-healthy scratch among the inactives.
The Patriots’ Week 1 game in Seattle will be kicked off at 8:20 p.m. ET.
