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Few NFL prospects hail from Belgium, but the New England Patriots just found one. The Patriots inked Belgian punter Corliss Waitman to join their practice squad on Tuesday, per NESN’s Zack Cox.
What are Waitman’s chances of making the active roster? It seems slim considering Jake Bailey made the Pro Bowl in 2020 and he’s been pretty strong in 2021. However, an injury can change things quickly and the Patriots are likely wary of being caught without a healthy punter. Bailey is nursing a knee injury, so this makes sense even if it is to help give punt returners some work in practice.
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Waitman has always been an intriguing athlete at the punter position, but from a pure leg strength and accuracy standpoint, Bailey rates among the best in the NFL. Because of that, it seems to be a long shot for Waitman to ever be active for the Patriots.
Jake Bailey’s 2021 Season
Bailey is coming off his lone Pro-Bowl season in 2020. His average punt is traveling 48.5 yards. that’s comparable to last season when he had an average of 48.7.
However, he has had 2 punts blocked. That’s not entirely on him, of course, but that is a statistic that falls on Bailey. Bailey is handling kick-off duties as well, which makes it less likely we’d see Waitman, unless he is activated for that reason exclusively.
Bailey was very strong against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday Night Football. He punted the ball four times with a 48.2 yard average, which would definitely
What’s Next for the Patriots?
The Patriots are heading into a tough stretch to their season. It begins on Sunday for a Week-12 matchup with the Tennessee Titans. The Titans will be without all-world running back Derrick Henry again as he tries to come back from a foot injury.
Still, Tennessee owns the best record in the AFC and this game will be the stiffest test of the season for the Patriots since their Week 6 battle with the Dallas Cowboys.
Here is a look at the rest of the Patriots’ schedule as well as the results from the first 11 weeks of the season.
New England Patriots (7-4) 2021 Regular Season Schedule
- Week 1 – vs. Miami Dolphins 17, New England Patriots 16
- Week 2 – New England Patriots 25, at New York Jets 6
- Week 3 – New Orleans Saints 28, New England Patriots 13
- Week 4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19, New England Patriots 17
- Week 5 – New England Patriots 25, at Houston Texans 22
- Week 6 – Dallas Cowboys 35, New England Patriots 29 – OT
- Week 7 – New England Patriots 54, New York Jets 13
- Week 8 – New England Patriots 27, Los Angeles Chargers 24
- Week 9 – New England Patriots 24, at Carolina Panthers 6
- Week 10 – New England Patriots 45, Cleveland Browns 7
- Week 11 – New England Patriots 25, at Atlanta Falcons 0
- Week 12 – Tennessee Titans at 1 pm ET – CBS – November 28
- Week 13 – at Buffalo Bills at 8:15 pm ET – ESPN – December 6
- Week 14 – Bye Week
- Week 15 – at Indianapolis Colts at 8:20 pm ET – NFL Network – December 18
- Week 16 – Buffalo Bills at 1 pm ET – CBS – December 26
- Week 17 – Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 pm ET – CBS – January 2
- Week 18 – at Miami Dolphins at 1 pm ET – CBS – January 9
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