FOXBORO - The Patriots are at least doing their homework on offensive line help.
According to Wednesday’s NFL transaction wire, New England brought in free agent guard Xavier Newman-Johnson for a visit as the team continues preparing for its Week 2 game this weekend. Newman-Johnson was most recently on the New York Jets practice squad before being released Tuesday.
The Patriots’ starting five up front appears set for now, but the depth behind that group is where the questions start. Injuries to backup linemen have kept the door open for outside options, and Newman-Johnson fits the kind of versatile interior piece that can matter when the numbers get tight.
Newman-Johnson, 27, comes with plenty of experience inside. He spent five seasons at Baylor, logging snaps at left guard, right guard and center. As a true freshman in 2017, he started eight games at left guard, and that remained the position where he spent most of his time.
He was granted an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to Baylor as the starter at left guard. Newman-Johnson played in all 14 games that season and earned All-Big 12 honorable mention.
After college, he entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Mike Vrabel’s Tennessee Titans in 2022. He was cut during roster reductions but stayed with the team on the practice squad for the season. In December, he was elevated to the active roster and made his NFL debut against the Dallas Cowboys.
Newman-Johnson made the Titans’ active roster again in 2023, though that stint ended two months later. He later signed with the Jets, where he appeared in seven games with four starts and played 000 offensive snaps that year for the Patriots’ AFC East rival.
Over the next two seasons in New York, he appeared in 14 games but spent much of his time on the practice squad. During the 2024 season, he collapsed on the Jets’ sideline after a big hit and was unable to move his body, though he later regained movement in his limbs and returned to the roster. He finished last season sidelined by a knee injury before the Jets released him Tuesday.
For the Patriots, the first five on the line don’t look like the issue. After last week’s loss to the Seahawks, the group of Will Campbell, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu and Morgan Moses looks like one that could stay intact all season.
The bigger concern is what happens behind them. Center/guard Ben Brown (knee) and tackle Dametrious Crownover (knee) both showed up on the injury report, and Crownover has missed the last two practices.
New England also has Greg Van Roten, Caleb Lomu and Walter Rouse in the building, along with practice-squad options Lorenz Metz, Jacob Rizy and Jake Kubas. If the Patriots decide Brown and/or Crownover won’t be available this week against the Steelers, Newman-Johnson could be a name they circle back to.
For now, though, no move has been made. The Patriots would need to clear a roster spot before signing him.
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Patriots Suddenly Have A Big Week 2 Question Against Pittsburgh
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A.J. Brown is still working back from an ankle sprain, but he has been active in those early practices, while Rhamondre Stevenson and Cole Henderson have also moved forward after their own absences. The Patriots will still be watching how everyone responds across the rest of the week, but for now the bigger question is less about availability than how close this group is to being fully ready for a tough matchup with the Steelers. [Read more 🡒]