Two days after he left the New England Patriots’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on a cart, Mike Onwenu has officially been placed on injured reserve. As a consequence, he will miss at least the next four games. The nature of his ailment — reported as a fractured right ankle — is likely to keep him out longer than that and possibly end his season.
In a follow-up move, the Patriots promoted punter Mitch Wishnowsky from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Here is what Tuesday’s transactions mean for the team from a big-picture perspective.
No surprises
Coming out of Sunday’s game, Onwenu finding his way to injured reserve was the expected outcome. The injury itself and subsequently-reported diagnosis made this clear pretty quickly, and head coach Mike Vrabel also suggested as much when speaking to the media on Monday.
“I don’t think he’ll be available here in the short term,” Vrabel said at the time. “I wouldn’t anticipate him being out there here in the next few weeks.”
From that perspective, New England pulled no surprises out of its transactional bag on Tuesday because the follow-up was also bound to happen. Wishnowsky spent the first two weeks of the season on the practice squad, only to be standard-elevated for both games. With only one such elevation remaining for the 34-year-old, however, the Patriots had to make a move at some point. Regular punter Bryce Baringer, after all, will be out for two more games at least while himself on IR.
Replacement wanted
When Onwenu left the Steelers game in the late first quarter, the Patriots inserted veteran Greg Van Roten as their new right guard. His debut had its ups and downs, but the 36-year-old seems poised to remain in the lineup between center Jared Wilson and right tackle Morgan Moses for the time being.
“I think he had a few plays that he’d like to have back, so would everybody,” said Vrabel about Van Roten on Monday. “But I thought he had some positive plays. To go through an entire game, there are going to be some good ones, some bad ones and some that we have to eliminate. I think that he stepped in there, was ready to go. Then we’ll have to figure out who’s the next guy, and if it is Greg, make sure that he’s as ready to go to work with Morgan and Jared as possible.”
The trickle-down effect of Onwenu moving to IR will not be felt only at the starter level, though. Promoting Van Roten in his place means that the team is now down to Ben Brown as its lone interior offensive backup. And while first-round draft pick Caleb Lomu showed some inside/out versatility in training camp, he has been “trying to predominantly practice, be there, be ready to go playing tackle,” according to Vrabel.
Other depth options available include tackle/guard hybrid Walter Rouse, who joined the team via trade ahead of roster cutdowns, as well as practice squadders Jake Kubas and Xavier Newman-Johnson.
Uncertain future
Mike Vrabel refrained from ruling Onwenu out for the remainder of the season on Monday, but the ankle injury that has now landed him on injured reserve is a serious matter. The 28-year-old staying sidelined for the rest of 2026 would not necessarily be a shocking development; on the contrary, a return at some point this season should be seen as a surprise.
This does not just mean his short-term future is uncertain, however, but his long-term outlook as well. Onwenu is in the final year of his contract, a deal he renegotiated over the offseason to sacrifice total compensation for a more favorable package of guarantees. Still, he is on track to enter the open market in six months.
IR keeps growing
With Onwenu now on injured reserve, the list continues to grow. Eight players are currently on it, and that is not including players such as running backs Jam Miller and Terrell Jennings, who were sent to IR at one point but have since been let go with a settlement.
Injured reserve (8): RB Myles Montgomery (39 | season-ending), WR A.J. Brown (1), WR Jeremiah Webb (29 | season-ending), TE Julian Hill (80 | season-ending), OT Marcus Bryant (52), RG Mike Onwenu (71), LB Khalil Jacobs (59), P Bryce Baringer (17)
Out of the eight on IR, three — Myles Montgomery, Jeremiah Webb, Julian Hill — are done for the season unless also getting released with settlements at some point. The other five are all theoretically in a position to return later in the year. For some such as A.J. Brown, however, the outlook is much more positive than for Onwenu.
Cap space decrease
As with most NFL transactions, Tuesday’s also have an impact on New England’s salary cap space. According to Miguel Benzan (@patscap), the Patriots lost $955,555 by moving Onwenu to injured reserve, promoting Wishnowsky, and signing tight end Tanner Conner to the practice squad.
This leaves the team with just under $6.5 million in available cap space, and a combined $51.1 million in cap commitments currently on IR.
