The Patriots’ offensive line was supposed to be one of the cleaner parts of the offense heading into Week 1. Instead, it’s turning into a full-blown problem.
For the opener against the Seahawks, New England lined up with Alijah Vera-Tucker at left guard, which let Jared Wilson slide over to center. Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses handled the right side, giving the group a more experienced look than it had earlier in the year. Will Campbell, coming off a rough postseason last season, has at least held up well enough at left tackle to give the unit a chance to settle in.
That stability didn’t last long. Onwenu broke his ankle against the Steelers, and his backup, Greg Van Roten, has since been placed on injured reserve. That leaves the Patriots scrambling again, with real questions about who starts next and how much more damage the depth chart can absorb.
The concern got even louder after last week’s game against the Jaguars, when Moses turned in the worst outing of his Patriots career. There were also whispers that he may have been dealing with a foot injury, and Mike Vrabel’s decision to pull him before the game ended only added fuel to that suspicion.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported after studying the tape that Moses appeared to injure his foot on the second play of the game, and that it had a major effect on how he played. Nick Cattles, host of the Lock On Patriots podcast, also said Moses grabbed his left foot after Josh Hines-Allen beat him on a block.
At 36, Moses has been a steadying force for the Patriots’ line over the past year. If he’s out, the ripple effect is obvious: New England is already leaning on backups in starting roles, and that kind of patchwork approach comes with a steep cost in depth.
The Patriots will have to look for help, whether that means free agency or trying to pry loose a lineman in a trade. That’s easier said than done, especially since tackles rarely get moved, but the need is obvious enough that it’s worth trying.
Drake Maye is already fighting through uneven protection, and that issue only gets sharper if the line keeps breaking down around him.
The expectation is that Ben Brown would take over at right guard, since he’s spent the past few years moving all over the Patriots’ offensive line. That flexibility matters, but it also leaves New England exposed if one more injury hits.
However it shakes out, the Patriots need to make a move. If another starter goes down, the situation could get a whole lot uglier, and the offense is already running out of room for error.
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