Mitch Wishnowsky

Mitch Wishnowsky has landed on New England’s practice squad after losing his Buffalo job, but Bryce Baringer’s injury has turned an apparent demotion into a live Week 1 pathway.

The roster status tells only half the story

Mitch Wishnowsky’s move to the New England Patriots practice squad initially reads as a sharp step down for a seven-year NFL veteran. Released by Buffalo on August 30, the 34-year-old was not carried on New England’s initial 53-man roster the following day. Instead, he joined the Patriots’ practice squad as the club rebuilt its specialist depth after cutdown day. (patriots.com)

But the timing matters more than the label. New England placed starting punter Bryce Baringer on injured reserve on August 31, meaning he must miss at least the first four games of the regular season. The Patriots did not immediately give Wishnowsky an active-roster spot, yet they have placed an experienced Australian behind a newly uncertain position rather than burying him in a conventional developmental role. (patriots.com)

From established starter to specialist insurance

Wishnowsky’s Patriots opportunity has been created by a roster problem, not by a clean change of direction. New England’s own analysis described the signing as short-term insurance for Baringer, whose status for Week 1 was unclear after a preseason injury. The subsequent injured-reserve designation makes the practical need more obvious: the Patriots require a punter who can be prepared quickly, even if the club has not yet decided how it will structure its active roster for opening day. (patriots.com)

That places Wishnowsky in an unusual middle ground. He is outside the active 53, but his position is one of the few on a roster where a single injury can immediately change the depth chart. A practice-squad signing can therefore function as a holding point before an elevation, an active-roster contract or another personnel decision. That possibility is an inference from the Patriots’ roster moves, not confirmation that Wishnowsky will start Week 1.

A veteran carrying a useful body of work

The Patriots are not taking on an unknown specialist. Wishnowsky entered the league as San Francisco’s fourth-round selection in 2019 and has played 105 regular-season games, with 348 punts for 15,865 yards and 156 punts inside the 20-yard line, according to his New England player biography. He spent the 2025 season with Buffalo after earlier work with the 49ers and a brief Washington practice-squad stint. (patriots.com)

That history gives the signing a different meaning from a developmental practice-squad addition. Wishnowsky’s value is not primarily the chance to learn an NFL operation; it is the chance to make himself ready for one on short notice. For an Australian punter who once appeared settled as San Francisco’s long-term starter, the current challenge is less about proving that he belongs in the league than proving that he can still be trusted when a team’s plans change suddenly.

The next checkpoint is active opportunity

Wishnowsky’s immediate Patriots task is now clear even if his ultimate role is not. He must absorb New England’s protection calls, snap timing and coverage responsibilities while waiting for the club to decide whether Baringer’s absence requires a promotion. The team’s initial practice-squad announcement listed Wishnowsky among 11 additions, while New England retained flexibility to keep adding players and adjust its specialist arrangement. (sports.yahoo.com)

So this is a reset, but not necessarily a retreat. Wishnowsky has lost the certainty that comes with an established active-roster job, and his release by Buffalo confirms that certainty cannot be assumed. Yet the Patriots’ injury situation has given him a credible route back into game-day football almost immediately. His next NFL chapter begins on the practice field, with the possibility that the call to punt may come far sooner than the roster designation suggests.

SourcesOfficial New England Patriots Roster TransactionsAnalysis: Patriots claim TE Cameron Latu and LB Darius Muasau off waivers, begin filling out practice squadMitch WishnowskyPatriots’ initial practice squad includes several familiar faces, possible Week 1 punter - Yahoo SportsOfficial New England Patriots roster transactionsMitch Wishnowsky — New England Patriots player biographyPatriots put P Bryce Baringer on IR, sign Mitch Wishnowsky to practice squadAnalysis: Patriots claim TE Cameron Latu and LB Darius Muasau, begin filling out practice squad

Buffalo’s August 11 depth chart kept Mitch Wishnowsky ahead of rookie Tommy Doman. The Bills’ second preseason game against Cleveland now offers the clearest comparison yet of incumbency, holding duties and punting execution.

The job is Wishnowsky’s to lose — for now

Mitch Wishnowsky enters Saturday’s meeting with Cleveland in the position Buffalo’s first unofficial depth chart established: first-string punter and holder, ahead of seventh-round rookie Tommy Doman Jr. That is not a final roster decision, but it is the clearest indication yet that the Australian has converted last season’s experience with the Bills into an early advantage. (nfl.com)

The distinction matters because Doman was not drafted merely as camp depth. Buffalo used the 239th overall pick on the Florida punter, giving the club a developmental alternative with a fresh contract window and a potentially longer runway. Wishnowsky, by contrast, has the operating knowledge of Buffalo’s protection calls, coverage expectations and game-day communication. The rookie has to prove he can close that experience gap quickly. (nfl.com)

Cleveland is a comparison point, not a verdict

The Bills play their second preseason game at Cleveland on Saturday, August 22, after beating Carolina 29–14 in the opener. That makes this a useful checkpoint, but not a decisive audition: Buffalo still has a third preseason game against Pittsburgh on August 27 before the regular season begins. (nfl.com)

The important question is not simply who punts farther. Buffalo’s special-teams evaluation has several connected pieces: operation time, ball placement, hang time, coverage-field position and reliability as Tyler Bass’s holder. A punter who wins one isolated distance comparison but loses the operation or placement battle has not necessarily improved his roster position.

The holding battle gives Wishnowsky another route to separation

Buffalo kicker Tyler Bass said both Wishnowsky and Doman were working effectively as holders during camp, while special-teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers stressed that comfort would come through repetition rather than shortcuts. That keeps the holding competition relevant even if one punter produces a better ball in Cleveland. (buffalobills.com)

Wishnowsky’s advantage is therefore broader than familiarity with the punt team. He is already integrated into the Bills’ field-goal operation, and Buffalo has publicly described him as one of two new holders working with Bass. Doman can reduce that edge only by showing that he is equally dependable under live-game timing and communication demands.

What to watch from the Australian

For Wishnowsky, the cleanest performance would be technically unremarkable: consistent strike quality, controlled directional placement and no disruption to Bass’s operation. Preseason punting is often judged in small samples, so the evaluation should focus on repeatability rather than one highlight kick.

The roster context also favours a conservative reading. NFL.com lists Wishnowsky as active for Buffalo and records his 2026 preseason log, but the available public statistical page does not yet provide a meaningful Week 1 punting line. That means Cleveland is less about defending a bad result than demonstrating that the incumbent can make the coaching staff’s decision straightforward. (nfl.com)

Doman’s presence changes the pressure without changing the hierarchy. If Wishnowsky handles the first-team work cleanly and remains the more dependable holder, Buffalo can continue treating the rookie as a challenger who needs to force the issue. If Doman receives comparable opportunities and separates in placement or operation, the Bills will have a genuine decision before Pittsburgh.

For now, Wishnowsky has the advantage that matters most: the first-team role, the existing NFL experience and the trust built through the holder relationship. Saturday’s game is the first live opportunity for Doman to make those edges look less secure.

SourcesBuffalo Bills 2026 Draft Picks | NFL.comNFL 2026 Buffalo Bills Schedule | NFL.comWhat we learned about the Bills on Day 6 of Training Camp 2026Mitch Wishnowsky 2026 Logs Stats | NFL.comBuffalo Bills: What we learned about the Bills on Day 6 of Training Camp 2026NFL: Buffalo Bills 2026 scheduleBuffalo Bills: Bills at Browns — 2026 Preseason Week 2NFL: Buffalo Bills 2026 draft picksBuffalo Bills first official depth chart report