It appears the Patriots are officially back after their [fourth-quarter comeback win](https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/10/04/best-and-worst-what-we-learned-in-patriots-29-26-season-altering-win-over-bills/) over the Bills, but injuries [continue to pile up](https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/10/05/mike-vrabel-provides-injury-update-on-patriots-wide-receiver-mack-hollins/) for Mike Vrabel’s squad.
Potential reinforcements could be on the way, however.
In this week’s Patriots mailbag, we’ll tackle some of those injury questions. But adding help at wide receiver appears to be on the forefront of fans’ minds.
Let’s combine all of those questions into one big answer.
#### @YANGS1K: Is there any chance the Patriots sign Tyreek Hill?
#### @captdiso
Will the patriots bring in a WR? Jerry Jeudy at WR2 now (while AJ Brown is out), then WR3 as he returns will give Maye a solid WR core.
#### @MikePita: Speaking of injuries, considering the current state of WRs, do you think the Patriots have entertained the possibility of trading back for Kayshon Boutte as he would be plug and play the moment he landed? Possibly even talk with Commanders about Diggs?
Vrabel was asked about the potential of adding more wide receiver help on Monday.
“Sure. Anybody that can help us. We’ll go explore here shortly,” Vrabel said.
I personally did not take that as Vrabel saying that the Patriots were going to go out and trade for a wide receiver or sign the best free agent available on the market.
I’ve been covering Vrabel for nearly two years now, and he rarely answers no to those types of questions. He’ll entertain most scenarios. I definitely wouldn’t be surprised if they added another wide receiver to the practice squad if Mack Hollins is set to miss time with his calf injury.
But ultimately, any acquisition would be short-term with A.J. Brown set to return off injured reserve this season. If you acquire Hill, Jeudy, Boutte or Diggs, then it just creats a logjam.
Personally, I still feel fine with a wide receiver corps of Brown, Hollins, Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism and Kyle Williams.
If there was a longer-term injury, then sure, we could revisit this conversation. But I wouldn’t want to give up draft capital and cap space for a player who might just immediately get buried on the depth chart.
#### @salvaje50: Do you think Lomu soon takes over at RT?
No. Morgan Moses had some struggles in Week 3 after injuring his foot, but he played just fine in the win over the Bills.
It was good to see Caleb Lomu get a solid chunk of snaps as an extra blocker in Week 4, but the team obviously trusts Moses in that role for now.
#### @theonlymatalive: In an effort to get their best five offensive lineman on the field, would they consider bumping Campbell inside to set up a Lomu-Campbell-Wilson-AVT-Moses starting five? Assuming they think Lomu is their sixth best OL-man.
No. Will Campbell isn’t moving from left tackle, and the Patriots don’t want to move Alijah Vera-Tucker from left guard. The plan is to have those guys team up on the left side long-term.
I am curious to see what happens at right guard for the rest of the season, though. I thought Ben Brown played fine against the Bills. You could definitely get by with him as your starter. But it feels like the Patriots might want Matt Pryor in that spot.
#### @DavidNorrish: What’s up with KR? It seems like they run to the 25 and fall down.
That’s kind of the state of the NFL right now. The average kick return is just 26 yards so far this season. The Patriots a tick under that mark at 24.8 yards per return.
The Patriots are getting set to face off against the NFL’s best kick returner, the Raiders’ Dylan Laube (33.4). The Panthers’ Jimmy Horn is averaging an NFL-low 20.2 yards per return.
It’s a boring play. I don’t know what the NFL will do about it.
#### @Leeeeeeggg: Good morning Doug, happy victory Monday. Do you envision any of the IR candidates who are now able to be activated will be ? And do you see any of them returning to practice this week?
The Patriots have two open spots on their roster after releasing outside linebacker Jose Ramirez this week.
Those spots could be filled by safety Brenden Schooler (NFI), who’s already been practicing, and offensive tackle Marcus Bryant, who has been present in the locker room.
The other candidates this week: punter Bryce Baringer, linebacker Khalil Hodges and outside linebacker Harold Landry III (PUP).
#### @benrlussier: when will Landry be healthy?
That’s a great question. Here’s what Vrabel said when I asked about him last week: “Not yet. Harold continues to work hard to try to get back. I think we’ll just have to be smart about when we start his window and then what that looks like. But not yet.”
I thought the Patriots would miss Landry more than they do.
Dre’Mont Jones and Elijah Ponder have been good as starters, and rookie Gabe Jacas has been an impact player as a rotational edge defender.
At this point, when Landry comes back, I’d use him as a rotational pass rusher/backup. I think there’s some value in starting Ponder and Jones and then having Landry and Jacas rotate into the game. It would be beneficial in giving everyone a breather, and there wouldn’t be a significant drop off with any of those players on the field.
#### @wqbtoo: There is no denying the Pats won while missing some key pieces, but in my “layman” view, Maye didn’t look close to how he looked last year. After last year’s game in Buffalo, I genuinely thought he was going to be elite. Now I’m wondering if he’s going to be CJ Stroud 2.0.
I disagree. I don’t think Sunday’s performance was the best of Drake Maye’s career, by any means, but I think it stacks up with how he played last year.
Maye was elite with his legs and only made one turnover-worthy play — his fumble — which was bad, but not nearly as poor of a decision as his six previous interceptions.
He also made three big-time throws, per PFF’s charting. I don’t know how he could have delivered a better pass, given the circumstances, than his touchdown toss to Efton Chism.
I respect the take, but I disagree. Maye out-played Josh Allen in the Week 4 win.