FOXBORO - The Patriots are eight days into training camp, and the first real sign of progress in the trenches may be happening after the whistle.
New England’s offensive and defensive linemen have spent time after practice talking through what they’re seeing on the field, trading notes even though they spend the day trying to beat each other up front. The idea is simple: get better together, even if the competition is fierce.
“I think it's the nature of the family feeling in this building," offensive tackle Will Campbell explained on Monday. "As much as we want to kick their ass at practice and they want to kick our ass, we want them to get as many sacks as possible. They want us to give up as few as possible."
That exchange isn’t limited to hand placement or footwork. Sometimes the biggest edge comes from spotting what an opponent is giving away before the snap.
"Just telling them, I'm always looking at their stance," defensive lineman Milton Williams said. "Any pass or run tells that they're giving us up front, because I know other D-linemen across the league looking at the same thing. So, if I feel like they're giving away a look, I'm telling them after practice."
Williams said the camp reps are already helping the offensive line clean things up.
"Every practice, I feel like I can pick up on at least one or two," Williams said. "But they're doing a good job of trying to build on it and play faster and trying not to give it away as much. So you can tell that they're taking my coaching, but I'm still trying to get an advantage for myself."
The attention to tells carries real weight for New England. Last season, cues along the offensive line may have played a part in the Patriots’ 29-13 Super Bowl loss against the Seahawks, when Drake Maye was sacked six times.
"We had a tell on their guards and their tackles," Seahawks star cornerback Devon Witherspoon said after the Super Bowl. "How they like to set. They're gonna overset on certain rushes, they're gonna fall for certain moves."
"That's why we stand beside him and that's why we always gonna have his back."@Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon on the defensive gameplan in Super Bowl LX from HC Mike Macdonald.📻 https://t.co/mOFVINlUt9#SuperBowl | #SuperBowlLX | #Seahawks | #GoHawks pic.twitter.com/dEtUkhUIEF
That backdrop makes this summer’s trench work feel especially important. The Patriots have added pieces on both sides of the line, and the reshaped group has a chance to address two of the team’s biggest problem areas in 2025.
On offense, New England brought in Alijah Vera-Tucker to start at left guard and moved Jared Wilson to center, the position he played in college. Campbell, meanwhile, is back healthy at left tackle after missing the end of the regular season with a torn right MCL.
The defense has changed as well, even if the interior line looks mostly the same aside from Khyiris Tonga’s departure. The biggest overhaul came on the edge, where the Patriots moved on from K'Lavon Chaisson in free agency and replaced him with Dre'Mont Jones on a 3-year, $36.5 million deal. They then added another piece in the second round of the 2026 draft, taking Illinois pass rusher Gabe Jacas.
Those additions matter because New England’s defense tied for the second-fewest hurries in the NFL last season, according to Fox Sports.
So far in camp, the work is about more than building chemistry. It’s about fixing the little things that can get exposed once the season starts. And in the Patriots’ case, the offensive and defensive lines are helping each other do exactly that.
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Rogers also brings a layer of familiarity with the coaching staff, which likely helped make the transition easier once the workout went well. The signing does not affect New Englands salary cap, and it gives the Patriots another experienced option while they continue to manage the edges of the roster with the season moving along. [Read more 🡒]
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Raridon and Arkin have each found ways to stay in the mix through the first weeks, and their work has added a little extra pressure to a competition that was already more open than it first appeared. Karon Prunty has also been part of that quieter roster battle, giving the Patriots more to evaluate as camp moves along and the cuts get closer. Nothing is settled yet, but the way these lesser-known players have kept showing up in key spots suggests the final decisions may be harder than expected. [Read more 🡒]