The Patriots’ offensive line took another blow Saturday against the Eagles, and this one came early.
On the game’s first drive, right tackle Marcus Bryant stayed down after a short run play. He eventually got to his feet and walked off under his own power, but he still needed help from members of the Patriots’ training staff. From there, he headed straight to the blue medical tent on the sideline and was later assisted to the locker room.
New England later announced that Bryant would not return because of an ankle injury.
Bryant, 24, entered the league as the 220th overall pick in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. As a rookie, he spent most of the year in a backup role at right tackle, appearing in 12 games but logging offensive snaps in only three. He was also a frequent healthy scratch from December on.
Even with that limited rookie workload, Bryant had carved out a meaningful spot in the Patriots’ summer plans. Alongside first-round rookie Caleb Lomu, he was one of the team’s top two backup tackles behind starters Will Campbell and Morgan Moses. With Bryant sidelined, New England turned to rookie Dametrious Crownover.
The injury adds to a growing list on the Patriots’ offensive front. In last week’s preseason opener against the Colts, both of the team’s top interior backups, Ben Brown and Andrew Rupcich, also went down. Brown is expected to miss multiple weeks, while Rupcich was placed on injured reserve and later waived with an injury settlement.
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