As the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline inches closer in Foxborough, so does a return plan.
The New England Patriots are expected to place offensive tackle Marcus Bryant on injured reserve at Sunday’s 6 p.m. ET cutoff, per report from ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
NFL clubs are permitted to designate two players for return at the deadline. That route would leave the 2025 draft choice eligible for activation after the first four games of regular season. For now, the role of swing tackle behind starters Will Campbell
and Morgan Moses projects to be in rookie No. 28 overall pick Caleb Lomu’s hands.
Bryant, 24, started the preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts at left tackle and got the nod on the right side the following week against the Philadelphia Eagles. Yet on the offense’s initial drive, the 6-foot-7, 320-pound bookend sustained an injury that sent him from the blue medical tent to the locker room. He did not practice leading up to the August finale versus the Cleveland Browns.
Selected in the seventh round of last year’s NFL draft at No. 220 overall, Bryant outlasted the 53-man deadline as a rookie. The former transfer from Southern Methodist to Missouri went on to appear in 12 games last regular season, logging 19 snaps on offense and 56 snaps on special teams.
Center Ben Brown and punter Bryce Baringer loom as candidates for the second return spot on injured reserve. As for outside linebacker Harold Landry III and core special-teamer Brenden Schooler, the 2025 Patriots captains respectively reside on the physically unable to perform and non-football injury lists.
New England began the weekend with an active roster of 91. By the end of Saturday, a reported 73 remained.
