Erickson is an intriguing prospect who also might be capable of giving the Patriots a boost on offense, as well as special teams. With Marcus Jones sidelined this week, coach Jerod Mayo indicated Friday that Erickson could provide depth when it comes to punt returns; in his NFL career, Erickson has returned 162 punts for 1,303 yards, as well as 110 kickoffs for 2,729 yards.
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Erickson, a 32-year-old veteran of eight seasons, was added to New England’s practice squad Dec. 18.
The 6-foot, 195-pounder entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with Cincinnati out of Wisconsin in 2016. He has played in 107 regular-season games with 17 starts, and has 112 receptions for 1,373 yards and two touchdowns.
Rice could provide help on the second level, as well as special teams. The 25-year-old was a third-round pick of the Titans in 2021, and played in 35 games with Tennessee with 10 starts, and finished with 110 total tackles, 2 passes defensed, and 18 special teams tackles.
The 6-foot, 223-pounder, who has also been with the Saints and Falcons, was signed to the practice squad last month.
In addition, the Patriots did not rule out any of the the following players who were classified as questionable on Friday’s injury report, meaning that safety Kyle Dugger (ankle/illness), safety Jabrill Peppers (hamstring), offensive lineman Cole Strange (knee), and defensive Keion White (groin) are all still possibilities to play.
However, rookie offensive tackle Caedan Wallace (ankle) was not activated from injured reserve, making him ineligible to play this week.
As for the Bills, they elevated wide receiver and safety Kareem Jackson from their practice squad Saturday.
The Patriots were hit with a pair of fines for infractions that occurred in last Sunday’s loss in Arizona, the league announced Saturday.
Running back Antonio Gibson was hit with a fine of $14,805 because of an unnecessary roughness call in the first quarter, while defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. was fined $16,883 for a horse collar tackle on Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray that took place in the third quarter.
Wise and Gibson weren’t the only two players fined for their actions last week; Cardinals wide receiver Zach Pascal was fined $11,255 for unsportsmanlike conduct (taunting) in the fourth quarter of the contest.
Brad Allen is set to work as the referee for Sunday’s Patriots-Bills contest. This will be the first New England game of the year for the 11-year veteran official, who is in his 11th season as an NFL referee.
