Mike Wright Ready to Fill In For Injured Jarvis Green

It's a pretty good sign for a football team when a substitute defensive lineman steps into a starting role as the team's leader in sacks.

Such is the case for the first place Patriots, who are likely to go with Mike Wright as the injured Jarvis Green's replacement for the next 2-4 weeks. Green underwent knee surgery during the bye week and may be out until December.

Wright isn't your typical bench player as he enters Week 9 with a team-most four sacks and has 17 total tackles through the team's first seven contests.

The fifth-year trench menace has played 61 games for the Pats since 2005 but has started just 10 of them. Wright has emerged as a go-to defender this season, largely due to the loss of Richard Seymour to trade, but also because of his versatility -- an asset Bill Belichick yearns for from his players. The 6-foot-4, 295-pounder has bounced around from right end to nose tackle and proves to be equally effective in either a three-man or four-man front.

"I've been playing a little bit more there this year since Seymour is gone and Jarvis is over there, and I've been backing up Jarvis," Wright told ESPNBoston.com. "It's been good. I've been getting a lot of reps over there in games and it's been helping me out. I've been a lot more comfortable over there."

Wright made headlines earlier this season and it wasn't because of a big play or crucial stop. Wright was slapped with a $5,000 fine from the NFL after making contact with the helmet of Ravens' quarterback Joe Flacco.