By HOWARD ULMAN
AP Sports Writer

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) --  Mike Wright's playing time increased
after the New England Patriots traded star defensive end Richard
Seymour to the Oakland Raiders a week before the season.

It's due to grow again now that the player who moved into
Seymour's spot, Jarvis Green, is recovering from knee surgery.

"It's tough to lose any player on the defense," Wright said
Tuesday, "but we're going to let Jarvis handle his business and
we're going to take care of what we can on the field."

Green had started the Patriots' first seven games then had knee
surgery during their bye week and is unlikely to play Sunday
against the Miami Dolphins (3-4). The Patriots (5-2) did not say
which knee was affected and provided no details on Green's
condition but didn't place him on injured reserve, which would
have ended his season. Green didn't practice Tuesday but walked
through the locker room without a visible limp and declined to
talk with reporters.

Meanwhile, Wright's career gets another unexpected boost.

He made the Patriots in 2005 as a rookie free agent out of
Cincinnati but had just 16 tackles in 13 games, none of them
starts. He started four games the next season then was limited
by injuries to nine games in 2007. He started two of his 16
games last year and appeared headed for a similar workload until
Seymour, a five-time Pro Bowl player, was traded for a
first-round draft pick in 2011.

Since then, Wright has started one game at defensive end and two
at defensive tackle and leads the Patriots with four sacks,
matching the total in his first four seasons.

"I'm trying to take what I do in practice more to the field," he
said. "Comfort level, experience, it's all playing into my
production, so I'm just thankful it's happening."

Wright has gotten more playing time at right end than he did in
past seasons.

"I've been playing a little bit more this year (on that side)
since Seymour's gone and Jarvis is over there, so I'm kind of
backing up Jarvis a little bit more over there," Wright said.
"It's been good. I've been getting a lot of reps over there in
games and it's been helping me out a lot so I've been a lot more
comfortable over there."

Without Green, the Patriots, who use mostly a 3-4 alignment,
have just five defensive linemen. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork and
end Ty Warren are starters while Wright and rookies Myron Pryor
and Ron Brace have been backups.

Pryor, a sixth-round draft pick from Kentucky, has played more
than Brace, a second-rounder from Boston College who was
inactive for the Patriots' last game, a 35-7 win over the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers in London.

"We're happy with them," defensive coordinator Dean Pees said.
"It's just a matter of Myron played quite a bit in this last
game in our sub package. We felt he gives us a little something
because of the way we were going to play a certain front. That
was kind of his role in that Tampa game. So that can change week
to week. We're pleased with both Ron and Myron."

Warren left the Tampa Bay game with an injured right ankle but
said on WEEI radio on Monday that he was "feeling pretty good
about my situation."

Last season, the Dolphins used their wildcat offense for the
first time when they played the Patriots in the 11th game for
both teams.

"It gives the running back a little bit more time to read the
defense, see where everything is since he's getting the ball
right off the bat," Wright said. "When they're in that wildcat,
it pretty much means (they'll) run, but they do have the ability
to pass, so that kind of throws people off."

The key for Wright is to be patient in reading the play and then
trying to stop it, no matter what position he plays.

"I'm the utility guy," he said. "So wherever they want to put
me, I'll be and I'll be prepared."