Patriots Designate Long-Forgotten Tackle Prospect To Return From IR

Remember Tyrone Wheatley Jr.?

If not, we wouldn't blame you. But he's worth keeping an eye on in the weeks and months ahead.

The Patriots on Wednesday designated the offensive tackle to return from injured reserve, per the NFL's transaction wire. Wheatley was placed on IR a day before New England's Week 6 game against the Las Vegas Raiders due to a knee injury.

The Patriots now have until Jan. 3 -- four days before the season finale -- to add Wheatley to the active roster. Wheatley resumed practicing on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old was acquired from the Browns in the late-August trade that sent running back Pierre Strong to Cleveland. At the time, he was viewed as a possible solution to New England's bleak offensive tackle situation.

But the reality is that Wheatley, who played tight end in college, is a developmental prospect who was active for zero games during his two seasons with the Browns. The hope was that he could earn a role with the Patriots, but his only playing time in the first two games was on special teams (five total snaps) and he was a healthy scratch the next three weeks.

Nevertheless, Wheatley, who went undrafted in 2021, received elite offensive line coaching in Cleveland and clearly is someone whom the Patriots believe has promise. Otherwise, they wouldn't have agreed to trade Strong, who was a fourth-round pick in 2022.

In all likelihood, Wheatley won't play tackle this season for the Patriots. But his apparent return to practice could be the first step toward him participating in a position battle next summer.