Patriots cut Bryce Baringer as Wishnowsky keeps the job

The news broke Monday morning, and the key detail is in the second sentence: Baringer is healthy. New England isn't releasing an injured player. They're picking the other guy.

Ian Rapoport

@RapSheet

The #Patriots are releasing their punter of the previous three season, Bryce Baringer, source says. He’s been on Injured Reserve, but is healthy now.

Here's how it got to this point. Baringer got hurt in the preseason finale against the Eagles, and the Patriots put him on IR at final cuts, which meant he had to miss at least the first 4 games. To cover the gap, they grabbed Mitch Wishnowsky for the practice squad right after the Bills released him, and he punted in Week 1. Wishnowsky was only supposed to be the stopgap. He ended up keeping the job.

Baringer isn't some camp leg either. The Patriots took him in the 6th round in 2023, and he's been their punter ever since. Last season he averaged 47.4 yards per punt with a 40.6 net. That's a legit NFL punter getting squeezed out by an injury that came at the worst possible time.

Mike Reiss pointed out the part that never shows up in the box score. Baringer was the veteran in a special teams room where the kicker and long snapper were both rookies last year.

Mike Reiss

@MikeReiss

Bryce Baringer was a critical, steadying, professional presence in helping K Andy Borregales and LS Julian Ashby as rookies in 2025. Tough break with his 2026 preseason injury, leading to Mitch Wishnowsky addition … and Patriots also facing IR numbers crunch on return limit.

Ian Rapoport

@RapSheet

The #Patriots are releasing their punter of the previous three season, Bryce Baringer, source says. He’s been on Injured Reserve, but is healthy now. t.co/4Jd2rxTgT4

That last line matters. NFL teams only get so many designated-to-return moves off IR each season, and New England is already tight on them. Using one to bring back a punter when Wishnowsky is doing the job fine is a hard sell. That leaves 2 options: carry 2 punters, which nobody does, or let Baringer go and save the return slot for a position that needs it. The Patriots let him go.

The timing fits the schedule too. The move comes right after New England's Thursday night loss to the Bears and before Week 8 against Miami, which gives the roster a few extra days to settle. The Patriots make it sound pretty clinical.

ProFootballTalk

@ProFootballTalk

Patriots releasing P Bryce Baringer off injured reserve. t.co/WG8OHeF5Al

For Baringer, there's an upside. He's 27, he's healthy and he has 3 years of starting tape, and he hits the open market at midseason, when a lot of teams are dealing with special teams injuries or a punter who's struggling. Someone will probably bring him in for a workout soon. For the Patriots, the punter job belongs to Wishnowsky for the rest of the season, and Borregales and Ashby lose the guy who got them through their rookie year.