FOXBORO - The New England Patriots’ starting guard spots have been settled for a while. Mike Onwenu is holding down one side, Alijah Vera-Tucker the other, and barring any hiccups, that pairing isn’t changing.
What’s gotten more interesting is the layer beneath them.
Training camp has started to reveal how thin - or at least how unsettled - the Patriots’ interior depth can look once the starters come off the field. Ben Brown and Andrew Rupcich have been the main second-string options all summer, with both players moving around the line and taking reps at left guard, right guard and center. They’ve also mixed in with the top group at times, but their spots in the pecking order appear to be taking shape.
The issue is what comes after them.
Caedan Wallace, who has been working as a tackle-turned-guard, went down during 1-on-1 reps on Saturday and left practice early. Before that injury, he had already been passed on the depth chart by Mehki Butler, who has taken a noticeable step forward in his second season with the Patriots.
Butler’s progress is real, but the résumé is still light. He spent stretches of last season on the practice squad and doesn’t have any game experience, which is part of why the Patriots have had to keep looking for help.
That search has led to James Hudson. The veteran, who has appeared in 60 NFL games, has now moved into the backup right guard role. Hudson began camp at tackle and even got first-team snaps early on, but Wallace’s injury and the lack of steady depth pushed the Patriots to shift him inside.
This week, Hudson has been working strictly at guard, warming up there before team drills and lining up next to the center.
"I mean, I think that there’s - whether we have injuries or things, but I think that guys are working in there," head coach Mike Vrabel said before Tuesday's practice. "James is getting some reps inside there, and there will be a time where you guys will see Caleb (Lomu) work in there. So, we’re just looking to find the best combination of guys for the season.
Lomu has already seen some guard work during spring practices, and that may end up being the clearest path to playing time for the Patriots’ first-round rookie this season. His route to a starting tackle job remains unclear.
As it stands, the Patriots’ guard group includes Onwenu, Vera-Tucker, Brown, Rupcich, Hudson, Wallace, Butler, Lomu, and rookies JonDarius Morgan and Jacob Rizy, who is primarily a center. For camp purposes, that’s a workable collection. A regular-season setup of Onwenu, Vera-Tucker, Brown and Rupcich should be enough to get by.
But the margin for error looks pretty small. Another injury, especially one like Wallace’s, and the whole picture could get shaky fast.
The Patriots have at least looked around for more help. They recently worked out Jared Penning, who played at Northern Iowa and spent time with the Baltimore Ravens, before using their open roster spot on defensive tackle Casey Rogers. The team also hosted Penning for a workout.
For now, Vrabel sounds comfortable enough with where things stand.
"So, I think we’re okay," Vrabel said. "I think the depth could always be better at every position, just to continue to build competition and finding the right mix of guys that are going to help us for this year."
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