The New England Patriots have finally filled the open spot on their 53-man roster. Second-year running back Lan Larison, who started the season on the practice squad, was promoted to the active team ahead of its upcoming game against the Miami Dolphins.
Let’s assess what the move means for the Patriots.
Improved running back depth
The Patriots entered the weekend with three running backs on their active roster, but one of them as a question mark to actually suit up versus the Dolphins. It turns out, TreVeyon Henderson will indeed
not participate in the game due to the illness that kept him out of practice on Thursday and Friday.
Instead of using a practice squad elevation on Larison to bolster the depth, the Patriots have added him to their 53-man team. The full position depth chart now looks like this:
53-man roster (4): Rhamondre Stevenson (38), TreVeyon Henderson (32), Corey Kiner (9), Lan Larison (34)
Injured reserve (1): RB Myles Montgomery (39 | season-ending)
What’s the benefit of brining Larison up instead of just elevating him? On the surface, there appears to be none. That said, besides the financial element we will get to in a second, the Patriots also add to their RB depth in a more sustainable manner: Larison was already standard-elevated for game day once, which in turn means he had only two such elevations left — a number that was effectively guaranteed to drop to one this weekend. Now on the 53-man team, those calculations no longer are a factor.
Kickoff return considerations
Entering Week 8, the Patriots are ranked 25th in the NFL in average kickoff return yards (24.9) and 27th in starting field position (28.5). There have been positive moments, but their kickoff return game has been relatively lackluster once again this year.
Is Larison going to change this dramatically? He averaged 24.5 yards on his two runbacks earlier this year, which ranks above Kyle Williams’ 24.0 but below Corey Kiner’s 26.7. From that perspective, no massive spike should be expected.
Still, his presence as an experienced runback option — he was a regular in that role throughout training camp — gives the Patriots some more flexibility. Not only could they decide to mix things up if performance calls for it, Larison also might help prevent exposing Kiner and Williams to extra contact. The team is getting quite thin at both running back and wide receiver and might need both of them on offense.
Trade questions
The NFL trade deadline is coming up on Nov. 10, and so far only one Patriots player — defensive tackle Christian Barmore — has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate. Should TreVeyon Henderson also be added to that list now that New England has signed another running back to the 53-man roster?
There are potential arguments for him being available, including his rather uninspiring output so far in his sophomore campaign. If Henderson is not showing significant growth in some crucial areas, it might make sense to cut ties early rather than late as to not risk any further damage to his value.
However, any such thoughts are purely speculative. Based on what we know, the Patriots are still high on Henderson and his potential within their offense.
“TreVeyon will help us plenty here down the stretch,” said head coach Mike Vrabel last week. There is no indication this wasn’t a sincere statement.
Cap impact
Active roster or practice squad, NFL players are all compensated through a weekly salary whose height depends on their actual contract language. In Larison’s case, his most recent pact with the Patriots paid him $13,750 a week while on the developmental roster.
Now on the 53-man team, he is getting a significant raise: his weekly salary now stands at $49,166.67. Calculated over the remainder of the regular season, this means his cap number jumps from $151,250 to $540,833.
