The New England Patriots have seen contributions from many players on their roster that have led to their four wins this season, but a player that doesn’t nearly get enough credit for what he does on a weekly basis for the team is punter Bryce Baringer.
Baringer, who was drafted in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL draft by the Patriots, has had as many coaches as years on the team now in his third season with New England. He’s taken on a leadership role in the special teams room as the veteran of that group, which includes two rookies.
An underrated element of Baringer’s job is being the holder for the field goal team, which has been a tremendous service for rookie kicker Andy Borregales and rookie long snapper Julian Ashby. The trio works together daily to get their operation down pat so that they can do their part for the team, which they’ve done well in this season, and the early special teams success has earned head coach Mike Vrabel's praise.
Mike Vrabel Credits Bryce Baringer's Leadership for Early Special Teams Success
Vrabel gave Baringer a special shoutout during Monday's press conference, saying that he’s a calming presence for the special teams unit that is mostly being handled by two rookies.
”I think you look at the operation on the field goal, being able to calm everything down, be able to handle the snap, and just the good placement — ball placement for Andy," Vrabel said. "Bryce really kind of helps out in all regards in special teams, and he’s done a nice job, whether that’s helping on kickoff return or kickoff or just helping at practice."
Although the Patriots haven’t needed it much, Baringer has also done well in his own part as the punter. When it’s time for him to punt, he completely flips the field to give the defense great field position. He’s only made 20 punts this season, but eight of them landed inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
- 979 Punt Yards (13th)
- 49.0 Yards Per Punt (12th)
- 793 Net yards (17th)
- 73-Yard Punt (2nd)
In Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday Night Football, Baringer booted a 73-yard punt (h/t @RealAlexBarth) to get the Bills out of New England’s territory despite the punt being a touchback. It was likely only a touchback due to how far Baringer was able to punt it, as it was too deep for any of the coverage players to get there in time to be able to down it before it hit the end zone.
This punt earned Baringer an on-field interview with the media before he left the field after the game, which Vrabel made sure to joke with him about (h/t @Patriots), saying that he’s getting big-time by doing interviews on the field after the game.
Vrabel is hoping that he doesn’t have to deploy Baringer to the field in a punting situation too often, but he’s confident in his ability to flip the field if and when he does need to make a punt.
“It was good for him. He’s done a nice job for us, and hopefully we don’t have to use him as much. But he certainly came off with a big kick there to flip the field," Vrabel said. "To be able to flip the field in those situations are huge, and Bryce has done a nice job.”
Baringer has finished as a top punter every year of his career, and Patriots fans shouldn't be worried about that streak ending any time soon.