Tag: Bryce Baringer

Four Patriots rookies, including Christian Gonzalez, given new numbers

It’s time to re-learn jersey numbers for these four Patriots rookies.

With the start of the regular season being a little over a week away, the New England Patriots are shaking things up with their rookie jersey numbers.

On Thursday, they announced number changes for cornerback Christian Gonzalez, kicker Chad Ryland, punter Bryce Baringer and offensive tackle Sidy Sow. This is the third number change the rookies have undergone since their arrival in the spring for OTAs.

Gonzalez, the Patriots’ first-round draft pick, will be wearing the No. 6, while Sow will wear No. 62. Meanwhile, Ryland has been issued the No. 37, and Baringer will be wearing No. 17 to kick-start the 2023 regular season.

All four rookies are expected to have pivotal roles on the roster right out of the gates. The specialists, Ryland and Baringer, both won starting jobs for the team in training camp, and Gonzalez has been playing with the first-team defensive unit since Day 1.

And given the unpredictable state of the offensive line, Sow will likely get his opportunities as well. They won’t have to wait long to get tested with the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles scheduled as the Patriots’ Week 1 opponents.

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Former MSU punter Bryce Baringer earns starting job with New England Patriots

Former MSU punter Bryce Baringer has won the starting punter job for the Patriots

On Monday, it was reported that the New England Patriots have released veteran punter Corliss Waitman, which will clear the way for former Michigan State punter Bryce Baringer to take the starting punter role as a rookie.

Baringer, who at one point was ready to hang up his pads and quit playing football after being cut in 2019, was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft by the Patriots.

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Report: Patriots cutting veteran P Corliss Waitman

The Patriots have made a decision at punter.

The New England Patriots have made their decision at punter.

Per the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed, the team opted to cut veteran Corliss Waitman on Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s 53-man roster deadline.

Waitman competed valiantly throughout training camp and the preseason, but the Patriots have ultimately decided to go with rookie sixth-round draft pick Bryce Baringer as the starter.

It isn’t a surprise considering what the team invested in Baringer, who showed off a strong leg with kicks being blasted as far as 65 yards. There is tremendous upside with the former Michigan State Spartan.

As for Waitman, another opportunity will surely come elsewhere, if he doesn’t end up back in New England as a member of the team’s practice squad.

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Studs and duds from Patriots’ preseason win vs. Packers

Who were the studs and duds of the weekend for the Patriots?

The New England Patriots made the trek to Lambeau Field on Saturday to face thousands of screaming cheese heads and the Green Bay Packers.

It was mostly a mixed bag performance for the Patriots, who ultimately came out on top in  a 21-17 victory. The game was suspended early in the fourth quarter after Patriots rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden suffered a head injury that required him to be rushed to the hospital.

It was later reported that Bolden was released from Aurora Bay Medical Center and allowed to travel back home with his teammates.

Although the Patriots didn’t play a full football game, there were more than enough moments to pick the studs and duds from a little over three quarters of action. Here’s who stood out the most for New England in the game.

WATCH: Former Michigan State punter Bryce Baringer dazzles with huge punt in New England Patriots debut

Bryce Baringer is already standing out in the NFL:

What’s the best part of NFL football? If you whispered to yourself, “punting”, you are absolutely correct. And there might not be a better young punter out there than former MSU football star punter Bryce Baringer.

The man who at one point hung up his jersey to join the Michigan State football marketing department was the first punter selected in the 2023 NFL draft, selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round, and he’s already making an impact and showing what he can do in a big way.

In his NFL debut, Baringer sent a punt from his end zone all the way to the 25-yard line, sending the return man scrambling way further back than he expected.

Watch the impressive punt below:

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Matt Judon reacts to Patriots rookie punter getting his jersey number

There’s a new No. 9 in New England, and Matt Judon’s reaction is priceless.

New England Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon is no longer the only player in the building with a No. 9 jersey.

The star pass-rusher now shares the number with rookie punter Bryce Baringer. On Thursday, the Patriots revealed all of their rookie jersey numbers, and Baringer became the second punter in two years to be given the No. 9 jersey in the preseason.

Last year, it was undrafted rookie punter Jake Julien that shared the same number as Judon. Julien didn’t stick on the roster and eventually landed in the Canadian Football League with the Edmonton Elks.

After seeing the number reveal, Judon hopped on social media and reacted, along with wide receiver DeVante Parker.

The twinning with No. 9 will be short-lived when the actual season begins, and the numbers are no longer allowed to be the same.

Baringer is locked into a positional battle with veteran punter Corliss Waitman. It’s hard seeing the rookie fail to make the roster considering the Patriots gave up a sixth-round draft pick for him. And from the looks of his early work in training camp, he is inching his way towards being a roster lock.

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Patriots announce 2023 rookie jersey numbers ahead of preseason opener

The jersey numbers for the Patriots’ 2023 rookies have been revealed.

The New England Patriots’ 2023 NFL draft class and undrafted free agents are ditching their temporarily assigned numbers for their actual game numbers.

On Thursday, the Patriots announced all of the new numbers ahead of their preseason opener against the Houston Texans.

With rosters being at 90 players at this stage, a lot of these numbers could change as rosters are finalized and numbers shift. It is also important to note that there are some players currently wearing the same number as another player on the roster. That is permitted in training camp, as long as the players aren’t not on the same side of the ball.

Let’s take a look at what numbers the rookies have decided to go with for the next few weeks of training camp.

10 standout players from the first week of Patriots training camp

Here are 10 standout Patriots from training camp so far.

The first full week of training camp is in the books with plenty to like from the New England Patriots on both sides of the ball.

Yes, even the offense, too.

The first few days were limited to red zone work and were basically an extension of minicamp and OTAs. However, the Patriots really opened things up in their first padded practice on Monday.

Things got competitive fast and in a hurry with the practices becoming much more physical. Granted, the defense is still the strength of the Patriots, but the offense isn’t backing down. Multiple players from the unit have shined as brightly as some of the team’s best defensive players.

Here are 10 standouts from the Patriots’ first week of training camp practice.

Patriots rookie specialists get rave reviews from evaluator

Patriots rookie specialists showed rare level of consistency, per evaluator

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The New England Patriots took the special-teams approach in the 2023 NFL draft, selecting Maryland kicker Chad Ryland in the fourth round with the 112th overall pick. They then selected Michigan State punter Bryce Baringer in the sixth round with the 192nd overall pick.

The selections may have been a bit surprising, given the talent already on the roster. However, New England saw something in both men that could serve the two well throughout their careers. They performed well at the NFL Scouting Combine, and the Patriots wanted to make sure what they saw was what they were getting.

That’s where specialist evaluator Jamie Kohl comes into play.

Kohl is one of the most respected specialist evaluators in the country, and after watching both Ryland and Baringer close up, he liked what he saw, as Mike Reiss noted in his Sunday notes column.

“So one of the main questions the Patriots and other teams had on Bryce and Chad — because we worked with them so much in January, February, March and April this year — was, ‘Is what you saw similar to what they produced on their pro days and combine?’ That was where we had some value.”

Kohl’s answer was a decisive “yes” — citing their mental toughness, Ryland’s leg speed and combination of accuracy and distance (as long as 72 yards), and Baringer’s consistency with hang times of 5-plus seconds (sometimes hitting 5.5, 5.6).

New England will need youth at the special-teams positions. Kicker Nick Folk is 38 years of age, while punter Michael Palardy is 31. Youth and competition will be important at both positions. Consistency is also a major factor.

Early signs are that the Patriots got exactly what they were looking for.

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Patriots announce signings of eight rookie draft picks

Patriots officially announce the signings of eight rookie draft picks.

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There have been reports of the New England Patriots agreeing to terms on deals with some of their 2023 rookie draft picks. Now, the team is announcing the official signings of eight rookie contracts.

The Patriots have locked up fourth-round draft picks Chad Ryland and Sidy Sow, fifth-round pick Atonio Mafi, sixth-round picks Kayshon Boutte, Bryce Baringer, Demario Douglas and Ameer Speed, and seventh-round pick Isaiah Bolden.

That leaves cornerback Christian Gonzalez, edge rusher Keion White, linebacker Marte Mapu and center Jake Andrews as the only Patriots draft picks that have yet to be signed.

Those contracts are expected to be done any day now.

The Patriots came out of the 2023 draft with an unusually large draft class.

But they’re obviously plowing through the paperwork and making room for what they hope will be future difference-makers for the team. They’ll need all of the help they can get after missing the playoffs last season.

If the incredibly tough 2023 schedule is any indication, it could be a long road back to relevance for New England.

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