The Patriots thought they had a strength at right guard. Three games into the season, it has turned into a problem spot in a hurry.
Mike Onwenu was supposed to anchor the position after years of steady play, but a fractured ankle in Week 2 against Pittsburgh changed the picture fast. Then Greg Van Roten, the free-agent pickup who stepped in for Onwenu, also went down with an ankle injury a week later. With both linemen now on injured reserve, New England is piecing together a plan and sorting through three options: Ben Brown, Walter Rouse and Matt Pryor.
Brown has the clearest track record in the system, even if the fit is a little unconventional. He came into camp as the No. 4 interior lineman and was slowed by an ankle injury in the preseason.
Rouse arrived in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings before late-August cutdowns, while Pryor was added this week for depth and experience. The Patriots still have to settle on who gets the job, but Brown has a case based on what he’s already done in the building.
If the call comes, he says he’s set.
“Physically, I feel great. I’m ready to roll however that might look,” he said earlier this week.
“It’s just like Coach [Mike Vrabel] always says, ‘Prepare every week as a starter regardless of if you’re actually out there or not.’ That’s what we are intending, to be ready.
And so, whatever is asked upon me, I’ll be ready for whatever.”
Brown’s path to this point has been a long one. He entered the league as a rookie free agent in 2022, then found his way to New England from the Raiders practice squad in 2024.
Since arriving with the Patriots, he has appeared in 33 games and made 14 starts, all at left guard or center. Right guard has barely been part of his résumé in New England - only 11 of his 1,007 offensive snaps there have come at that spot.
Still, Brown isn’t backing away from the challenge. He said he feels comfortable there because he played right guard at Ole Miss, and he’s framing the situation the way linemen often do: whatever keeps the offense moving.
“I want to do whatever I can to contribute, however that might look,” he said. “I just want to be ready for whenever my number’s called upon.
Whenever that might be, because you never know in the NFL. It’s long seasons and a lot goes on in it.
Best thing I can do for this football team is just be ready whenever my number’s called.”
In Other News...
Patriots May Have Found A Needed Offensive Bright Spot Up Front
The Patriots 1-2 start has been defined by an offense that has struggled to generate much of anything, which makes any steady development up front worth noticing. One of the few encouraging signs came in Week 3 against Jacksonville, where Jared Wilson handled his work well and gave New England a cleaner look along the interior than it has often had through the first month.
Wilson has been working mainly at center this season, and the progress he has shown from earlier games is part of why his latest outing stood out. He did not allow a pressure or commit a penalty, and that was enough to land him on PFFs Team of the Week, a small but meaningful bright spot for a line trying to help stabilize an offense that badly needs it. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Let Another AFC East Game Slip Away For One Reason
The Patriots walked out of Buffalo with a 29-26 win in a game that had plenty of the usual AFC East friction, plus a few swings that kept it from feeling settled until the final stretch. New England got touchdowns from Romeo Doubs and Efton Chism III, while Buffalo answered with a Josh Allen strike to Keon Coleman, and the game had the kind of back-and-forth edge that has made these matchups so hard to separate in recent years.
What stood out, though, was how often the Bills were able to lean on James Cook on the ground and still never fully take control of the game. Buffalo also had chances fueled by multiple Drake Maye turnovers, but the Patriots kept finding enough offense and enough answers to leave the division rival still searching for what slipped away in another one-possession AFC East result. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Bills Matchup Just Got More Complicated In The Secondary
The early weeks of the 2026 season have already tested New Englands depth, with A.J. Brown, Mike Onwenu, Christian Barmore and Christian Gonzalez all dealing with injuries. Now the Patriots are preparing for a divisional trip to Buffalo with another familiar layer of uncertainty in the secondary, even as the Bills are navigating some issues of their own on the back end.
Buffalo cornerback Christian Benford is unlikely to play, which adds another wrinkle to a matchup that already looked like it could turn on coverage and communication. For the Patriots, a game that might have been about establishing control in the AFC East now comes with more moving parts in the defensive backfields on both sides, and that could make Sunday feel a lot less predictable than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]