The New England Patriots didn’t stop at adding bodies after injuries hit their interior offensive line in the preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts. Once Ben Brown and Andrew Rupcich went down, the team dipped into free agency and came away with three signings in the days that followed.
Two of those moves were low-cost pickups in Darrian Dalcourt and Joseph Michalski. Greg Van Roten was the different kind of investment.
At 36, Van Roten looks like more than a short-term patch. The contract structure suggests the Patriots have him in the mix for 2026, and they paid enough to make that clear.
OL Greg Van Roten: Contract details
Base value: $3,000,000
Maximum value: $4,500,000
Guarantees: $1,000,000
Base salary: $500,000
Signing bonus: $500,000
2026 (age 36):
Base salary: $1,480,000
Signing bonus: $500,000
Roster bonus: $1,020,000
Incentives (LTBE): $1,500,000
Salary cap hit: $4,500,000
Van Roten had been unsigned since his deal with the Giants expired in January, but the Patriots still went well beyond the $1.3 million veteran minimum for a player with his experience. He gets a partially guaranteed $1.48 million salary, plus a $500,000 signing bonus and another $2.52 million tied to availability and performance.
That money is spread across $1.02 million in roster bonuses and as much as $1.5 million in playing-time incentives, both of which are considered likely to be earned and count toward New England’s cap.
His $4.5 million cap number sits just below the $4.78 million cap hit of starting left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, one of the players Van Roten will be backing up this season. The guarantees, in particular, make it hard to miss what the Patriots may be signaling here.
Ben Brown is still the best bet to reclaim the top backup job on the interior once he’s healthy again. For now, though, Van Roten appears to be the leading candidate for that role. And given the way the deal is built, he could end up on the 53-man roster even though he didn’t join the team until mid-August.
In Other News...
Drake Maye Is Already Saying What Patriots Fans Need To Hear
Drake Maye spent part of the week around the Eagles, and the interaction gave the Patriots a useful glimpse into how their young quarterback is approaching the next stage of his development. After joint practices, Maye spoke with clear admiration for Jalen Hurts, pointing to Hurts work ethic and the path he has carved out in the league. He also noted how close the two came to overlapping at Alabama, a small detail that underscored just how long Maye has been tracking the kind of quarterback standard he wants to reach.
For New England, the bigger takeaway is less about the comparison itself and more about where Mayes head is as he heads into his third NFL season. He has been candid about focusing on the mental side of his game, and that matters for a team still trying to stabilize the most important position on the field. Hurts rise, resilience and Super Bowl-level success offer a clear model, and Maye seems intent on learning from it while continuing to build his own path. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Face A New Doubt About Mike Vrabel And Drake Maye
The conversation around Mike Vrabels first months in New England has taken on another layer, this one coming from the media rather than the field. Colin Cowherd weighed in on the reported affair allegation involving Vrabel and NFL reporter Dianna Russini, separating the ethics question from the morals debate while using the moment to revisit how the Patriots are viewed heading into the season.
Cowherd was skeptical that New England can simply roll last years success forward and suggested the team looks more like a wild-card outfit than a Super Bowl contender. Even so, he had high regard for the Vrabel-Drake Maye partnership, ranking it among the leagues better coach-quarterback pairings and putting it sixth overall, which is part of what makes the Patriots next step such an intriguing one. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Fans Got An Encouraging Will Campbell Sign In Eagles Camp
The joint practices with the Eagles gave the Patriots a useful checkpoint, and by all accounts New England held its own early in the week. Beyond the team-wide showing, one of the more encouraging takeaways for Patriots fans came from Philadelphia side Lane Johnson, who singled out second-year lineman Will Campbell and put him in some pretty notable company while praising the way he has improved.
Campbells path is still being measured through the summer, with the Patriots continuing to evaluate where he fits and what kind of role he can handle. Coming back from a knee injury only adds another layer to that process, but the early signs have been positive enough to keep him squarely in the conversation. The real read, though, will come once the games start for real and the progress has to show up under season pressure. [Read more 🡒]