Pats Pulpit
It did not take the New England Patriots long to suffer their first season-ending injury of training camp. On Sunday, after he had suffered what looked like a non-serious injury in the previous day’s practice, Jeremiah Webb was placed on the injured reserve list.
The move puts a premature end to the wide receiver’s sophomore season. What else does it mean for the Patriots, though? Let’s find out.
When the news broke on Saturday that Gabe Jacas had agreed to his rookie contract with the Patriots, the clock started ticking. Once he had officially signed the deal, the Patriots needed to make space for him on their active 90-man offseason roster (which actually stands at 91 due to the presence of roster-exempt offensive tackle Lorenz Metz).
They did so by moving Webb to IR. That transaction was already preceded by New England already bolstering its wide receiver group through claiming Kobe Prentice off waivers on Saturday.
Prentice joining the Patriots on Saturday temporarily increased the number of wide receivers on the Patriots’ roster to 12. With Webb now on injured reserve, it is back down to 11:
W. de receiver (11): A.J. Brown (1), Romeo Doubs (87), DeMario Douglas (3), Kayshon Boutte (9), Mack Hollins (13), Kyle Williams (18), Efton Chism III (86), Kyle Dixon (83), Nick DeGennaro (23), Cameron Dorner (88), Kobe Prentice (19)
IR (2): Jeremiah Webb, Jimmy Kibble
Webb now joins Jimmy Kibble on injured reserve; the undrafted rookie was waived with an injury designation on the eve of training camp and subsequently reverted to IR after going unclaimed. In total, the Patriots now have three players on IR: Webb, Kibble and tight end Julian Hill.
Webb was one of the feel-good stories of last year’s training camp. Signed as a rookie free agent, who had joined the Berlin Thunder of the European League of Football even before the 2025 NFL Draft had taken place, he delivered multiple quality performances in training camp and preseason to earn himself a spot on New England’s practice squad for the 2025 season.
Entering his second year in the system, however, his outlook was murky. The Patriots had invested some serious resources in their wide receiver group over the offseason, and Webb found himself facing an uphill battle for the roster. The practice squad was not a given either considering that the team had also added four undrafted rookies to the mix as well.
From a pure football perspective, therefore, Webb’s season ending in late July is unlikely to have a major impact on the fortunes of New England’s passing game in 2026.
Moving Webb to injured reserve actually has no impact on New England’s salary cap at the moment. With a salary of $885,000 and no guarantees in his deal, he did not count against the team’s books under the Top 51 rule. However, his split salary of $515,000 will become...
