The New England Patriots’ kickoff return game is going to look different yet again. After starting out with Antonio Gibson and later inserting Efton Chism, neither will be active on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns: Gibson is out for the year with a torn ACL, while Chism has been relegated to healthy scratch status again.
So, whose turn will it be to run back kicks in Week 8? Our educated guess is that practice squad elevation Terrell Jennings will be part of the group after he already aligned
deep each of the last two weeks alongside Chism.
Who else is a candidate to fill that role, though? Fellow running back TreVeyon Henderson lined up as kickoff returner for the first five games of the season, but was removed after Gibson’s injury to preserve him as the No. 2 at his position. Wide receivers DeMario Douglas or Kyle Williams might also be in consideration, as might be safety Richie Grant.
The Patriots’ full game day roster for Sunday’s game looks as follows:
Patriots game day roster: Week 8 vs. Browns
Quarterback (2): Drake Maye (10), Joshua Dobbs (11)
Running back (4): Rhamondre Stevenson (38), TreVeyon Henderson (32), Jack Westover (37 | FB/TE), Terrell Jennings (26 | KR)
Wide receiver (5): Kayshon Boutte (9), Stefon Diggs (8), Mack Hollins (13), DeMario Douglas (3), Kyle Williams (18)
Tight end (2): Hunter Henry (85), Austin Hooper (81)
Offensive tackle (4): Will Campbell (66 | LT), Morgan Moses (76 | RT), Vederian Lowe (59), Marcus Bryant (52)
Interior offensive line (4): Jared Wilson (58 | LG), Garrett Bradbury (65 | C), Mike Onwenu (71 | RG), Ben Brown (77)
Interior defensive line (5): Christian Barmore (90), Milton Williams (97), Khyiris Tonga (95), Joshua Farmer (92), Cory Durden (94)
Defensive edge (4): Harold Landry III (2), K’Lavon Chaisson (44), Anfernee Jennings (33), Elijah Ponder (91)
Linebacker (5): Robert Spillane (14), Christian Elliss (53), Jahlani Tavai (48), Jack Gibbens (51), Marte Mapu (15)
Cornerback (5): Christian Gonzalez (0), Carlton Davis III (7), Marcus Jones (25 | PR), Charles Woods (22), Alex Austin (28)
Safety (5): Jaylinn Hawkins (21), Craig Woodson (31), Dell Pettus (24), Brenden Schooler (41), Richie Grant (39)
Specialists (3): Andy Borregales (36 | K), Bryce Baringer (17 | P/H), Julian Ashby (47 | LS)
The most notable development outside of the kickoff return role is the change at safety. Starter Jaylinn Hawkins returns to the lineup after missing two games with a hamstring issue, while his replacement — Kyle Dugger — is out with a knee ailment.
Meanwhile, the Patriots are going with four outside linebackers. Keion White has been made a healthy scratch, possibly the result of his pass-game focus versus what will be a run-heavy opponent. With the Browns likely relying on their ground game quite a bit on Sunday, Anfernee Jennings has been given the nod as the third edge behind starters Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson.
Patriots reserves
Inactives (7): QB3 Tommy DeVito (16), WR Efton Chism III (86), OL Caedan Wallace (70), DT Eric Gregory (55), ED Keion White (99), ED Caleb Murphy (45), S Kyle Dugger (23)
Practice squad (14): RB Jashaun Corbin (30), WR John Jiles (83), WR Jeremiah Webb (29), TE C.J. Dippre (82), OL Sebastian Gutierrez (72), OL Andrew Rupcich (67), OL Brenden Jaimes (61), DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (98), DT Leonard Taylor III (93), ED Truman Jones (54), ED Bradyn Swinson (43), LB Darius Harris (42), CB Miles Battle (35), CB Kobee Minor (19)
Practice squad exempt (1): TE Thomas Odukoya (88 | IPPP)
Reserve/injured (9): FB Brock Lampe, OT Yasir Durant, CB Marcellas Dial Jr., DT Jaquelin Roy, RB Lan Larison, RB Deneric Prince, DT Isaiah Iton, G Layden Robinson, RB Antonio Gibson
Reserve/retired (1): OL Wes Schweitzer
Outside of the inactives and practice squad elevations, New England’s reserves saw no changes compared to last week. That said, Terrell Jennings now being out of standard elevations — he has been brought up a maximum of three times — might lead to some change in the near future.
The Patriots’ game against the Browns at Gillette Stadium will kick off at 1 p.m. ET.
