The New England Patriots made some changes to their roster ahead of their Week 17 game against the New York Jets.

Wide receiver Mack Hollins was sent to injured reserve because of the abdomen injury that has kept him out of practice the entire week. In a corresponding move, defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. was promoted from the practice squad to fill his spot on the 53-man team.

Let’s assess what the transactions mean for the Patriots from a big-picture perspective.

WR Mack Hollins: Placed on IR

Blow to the offense: Since arriving in New England via a two-year, $8.4 million free agency deal in March, Hollins has been a reliable contributor. He is currently leading all of the team’s wide receivers in snaps (657; 67.8%) while also ranking third on the Patriots in targets (65), receptions (46) and receiving yards (550) and sixth in touchdowns (2) — numbers that illustrate how he earned the trust of both quarterback Drake Maye and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

In addition to his stats, Hollins’ abilities as a blocker allowed him to be used as a true three-down receiver, while he also served as a tone-setter and mentor for the younger pass catchers in the room. Long story short, his presence will be missed.

Wide receiver reset: With Hollins off to injured reserve, the Patriots are left with eight available wide receivers. Of those, five are on the active roster with three more rounding out the depth chart on the practice squad.

In full, the group now looks as follows:

53-man roster (5): Kayshon Boutte (9), Stefon Diggs (8), Kyle Williams (18), DeMario Douglas (3), Efton Chism III (86)

Practice squad (3): John Jiles (83), Jeremiah Webb (29), Brandon Smith (80)

IR (1): Mack Hollins

For the time being, it seems that the Patriots will rely on the wideouts on the 53-man roster to carry the torch during Hollins’ absence. The team elected not to elevate one of the three practice squadders for the upcoming game against the Jets, even though all of them have the maximum three elevations still available.

Trickle-down effect: The player most directly impacted by Hollins’ move to IR is rookie Kyle Williams, who projects to take over his position as a starter-level perimeter wide receiver. That being said, the third-round draft pick is still a developing player, which means that he might not be a 1-for-1 replacement.

Instead, the Patriots might use a collective effort that also includes the veteran trio of Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas and Austin Hooper: Diggs could see more snaps on the outside, with Douglas and Hooper both getting an uptick in opportunities as inside receivers depending on packages employed. New England using more 12-personnel packages with Hooper and Hunter Henry at tight end could happen.

Also impacted by the Hollins news is Efton Chism. A semi-regular healthy scratch this season, he now is the No. 5 wideout on the roster and could take over the kickoff return role that Williams recently filled. With the latter now seemingly off to a bigger role on offense, the Patriots might want to limit his special teams exposure.

Return timeline TBD: Per NFL rules, players going to injured reserve will have to sit out at least four games. In Hollins’ case, two of those will come over the next two weeks in the form of the Patriots’ matchups with the Jets and Miami Dolphins to close out the regular season. The timeline from that point on is currently unclear: if New England earns a first-round playoff bye, he would not be eligible to comeback until the Super Bowl; if not, the championship round would mark the earliest possible return date.

Salary cap impact: Every move in football has some financial ramifications, and this one is no different. Hollins’ trip to injured reserve means that he will not be able to earn two active roster bonuses totaling $100,000. With those originally classified as likely to be earned, New England will get a credit on its 2026 salary cap.

Meanwhile, Hollins will finish the regular season with those 46 catches mentioned above, which means that he cleared two of his three contract incentive hurdles: he will get $300,000 each for making it past 30 and 40 receptions, but will fall short of the final installment of $400,000 he would have gotten had he caught 50 balls. Add it all up and you get a salary cap number of $5.15 million for next year.

DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr: Signed to 53-man roster

D-line shuffle continues: The Patriots’ interior defensive line suffered some losses over the last few weeks, and will be without Milton Williams (ankle/IR), Khyiris Tonga (toe), and Joshua Farmer (hamstring/IR) on Sunday versus the Jets. Adding Pharms Jr. to the mix helps bolster the depth behind the only remaining top-three defensive tackle, Christian Barmore.

The group now looks like this:

53-man roster (5): Christian Barmore (90), Khyiris Tonga (95), Cory Durden (94), Eric Gregory (55), Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (98)

Practice squad (2): Leonard Taylor III (93), Fabien Lovett Sr. (96)

IR (4): Milton Williams (IR-R), Joshua Farmer, Jaquelin Roy*, Isaiah Iton*

Milton Williams returning to practice this week was good news for the Patriots, and suggests that a return is on the horizon. This, in turn, could mean that Pharms Jr’s stint on the 53-man team might be short-lived. However, by promoting him now the team does save his third and final practice squad elevation.

Pass rush help: While he did accumulate a fairly even split between run (10) and pass snaps (18) in his two in-game appearances so far this season, Pharms Jr. is better suited to contribute in the passing game. At 300 pounds, he weighs 38 fewer pounds than, for example, early-down nose tackle Khyiris Tonga. That is not a bad thing, though, particularly considering that New England’s pass rush has run hot and cold lately and will be without sack leader Harold Landry against the Jets.