We absolutely should sign an LG in FA:

[Clonamery]

I think? But I would prefer him inside.

For all of the practice time he misses, Morgan Moses truly is reliably available.

It's Wednesday rest.

 

[NFL Mystique]

They need to try something. I think the last two SB's have proven that having a great to elite QB does not matter with bad OL play. It's the most important unit after QB.

 

[Wozzy]

Or the coaches do their jobs and develop Campbell and Wilson. Posters here realize they have the potential to improve mightily from their rookie season to their next one… right?

Add in the draft and free agency if great prospects are sitting there. You can’t just assume the young guys will improve, you want to ratchet up the level of competition in camp and build depth either way.. but don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Campbell and Wilson are really talented, but improve the entire unit. That’s the goal every offseason.

 

[DaBruinz]

How about this...

Cut Onwenu to save $17.5M cap space. Sign Kevin Zeitler for RG. Last year he signed for 1 year $9M so I'd expect similar. Net savings of $8.5M.

Sign Joel Bitonio as another 1 year stop gap, veteran guard for the left side.

Release Bradbury to save $5.7M and sign Connor McGovern to play C.

Re-sign Munford as the swing tackle.

Starting OL next year is Campbell / Bitonio / McGovern / Zeitler / Moses. Backups are Brown, Wilson, Munford and then ideally a highly drafted OT that you plan to take over for Moses in 2027. Maybe Marcus Bryant is already that guy in waiting though as many here seem to believe (I personally think he's just a back end roster guy at this point and while maybe he develops into a starter there's no specific expectation on that).

McGovern has experience at both guard spots so the idea would be that Wilson eventually takes over centerand McGovern kicks out to whichever guard spot is playing worse. But this forces Wilson to step up his play because he didn't look strong enough this past year. Both of the guards would be one year deals so the opportunity is there for 2027 and could be sooner if his play/their play warrants a switch.

Yes.. Let's cut the best O-linemen we have and downgrade to a pair of 34+ Year old guards so the Pats have the oldest O-line in the league.

That puts an entirely new interior O-line in front of Maye. that will cause more problems than it will solve.

 

[DaBruinz]

Can owenu play right tackle or is that ship sailed

Why would you want Onwenu to kick out to RT?

 

[DaBruinz]

Or the coaches do their jobs and develop Campbell and Wilson. Posters here realize they have the potential to improve mightily from their rookie season to their next one… right?

Add in the draft and free agency if great prospects are sitting there. You can’t just assume the young guys will improve, you want to ratchet up the level of competition in camp and build depth either way.. but don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Campbell and Wilson are really talented, but improve the entire unit. That’s the goal every offseason.

I fully expect Campbell to get better.

While I expect Wilson to improve, he was one of the worst LGs in the league. He posted 4 sacks allowed 7 QB hits and 17 Hurries on 486 passing snaps in the regular season. He allowed another 4 sacks and 9 hurries on 160 passing snaps in the post season.

That works out to be 1 pressure every 17.4 pass protection snaps in the regular season and 1pressure every 12 pass protection snaps in the post-season.

By comparison, Layden Robinson allowed 4 sacks, 6 hits, and 23 pressures on 366 snaps in 2024. Or 1 pressure every 11 snaps.

So Wilson ended up improving during the regular season, but reverted back to where he started in the post-season.

The other issue with Wilson is injury concerns. He had 3 injuries including a concussion this year. That's not a good sign for him being a long term answer. Which is why I started suggesting McGovern as an alternative signing months ago..

 

[mike_usagisan]

Yes.. Let's cut the best O-linemen we have and downgrade to a pair of 34+ Year old guards so the Pats have the oldest O-line in the league.

That puts an entirely new interior O-line in front of Maye. that will cause more problems than it will solve.

I think there's a fair number of fans who haven't been paying attention the last several months when Owenhu has been an absolute anchor on the line. I can see them restructuring his contract, if they want to free up the cap, but I think it's unlikely they cut him and then have to try to sign another top guard.

 

[stelfans]

I'd absolutely sign Bitonio and Mcgovern. With Wilson and Brown as backups. Draft another IOL and a RT and cut Bradbury, Bryant and Wallace. Have Wallace and Bryant in camp but i dont see what value they bring.

Mcgovern is a must IMO, Bitonio a nice to have. Not an easy task.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

Yes.. Let's cut the best O-linemen we have and downgrade to a pair of 34+ Year old guards so the Pats have the oldest O-line in the league.

That puts an entirely new interior O-line in front of Maye. that will cause more problems than it will solve.

It's a whole new interior but aren't we all pretty much in universal agreement that 2 out of 3 spots (LG & C) SHOULD be upgraded? Bradbury isn't very good at C and Wilson was pretty bad this year at LG. I guess you could hope Wilson plays better at C than he did at LG, but I thought he looked weak enough that I'm not willing to pencil him in at that spot either next year. Would much rather force him to really play his way back onto the field. I'd have liked to put a younger guard than Bitonio on there but most of the FAs are old and a lot of the younger guys have injury history or are reclamation projects. I didn't want to plan on going with a rookie either, so I went with a vet stop gap there and a . If you're in favor of continuity you could keep Bradbury/Wilson to fight it out for center and just put McGovern at LG, but I think Bitonio is a better stop gap at LG than Bradbury is at C.

On RG... totally fair. Might have been an unnecessary swap on my part. For continuity sake maybe just keep Onwenu on the last bloated year of his deal vs. a cheaper one year guy. My thinking was that money can be spent elsewhere and that it's a lateral move, maybe even an upgrade. But new player in a new system who's aging vs. a proven commodity and maybe juice isn't worth the squeeze there. Part of my thinking is that we might benefit from a more athletic RG for screens and stuff like that, but with Campbell at LT, Bitonio at LG, McGovern at C, Onwenu at RG and Moses at RT you'd have a whole collection of BIG linemen so maybe the fit with Onwenu is actually more cohesive.

 

[mike_usagisan]

It's Wednesday rest.

He was out a lot of training camp, too, but that's just the way this new staff rolls. And it paid off in spades for Moses.

 

[mgteich]

Or the coaches do their jobs and develop Campbell and Wilson. Posters here realize they have the potential to improve mightily from their rookie season to their next one… right?

Add in the draft and free agency if great prospects are sitting there. You can’t just assume the young guys will improve, you want to ratchet up the level of competition in camp and build depth either way.. but don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Campbell and Wilson are really talented, but improve the entire unit. That’s the goal every offseason.

Wilson is really talented. After all, we say so.

 

[Clonamery]

Wilson is really talented. After all, we say so.

I'm going to start calling you, Ring 3, because you're only half as obnoxious as your mentor.

 

[DaBruinz]

I'd absolutely sign Bitonio and Mcgovern. With Wilson and Brown as backups. Draft another IOL and a RT and cut Bradbury, Bryant and Wallace. Have Wallace and Bryant in camp but i dont see what value they bring.

Mcgovern is a must IMO, Bitonio a nice to have. Not an easy task.

The problem with Bitonio is that he's 34 going on 35. You have no idea how much he has left. He's as likely to retire in camp as Schweitzer was last season. If you're making a change, you bring in someone who can be there for 3-5 years.

It's been fan speculation since he was drafted that Wilson would be taking over at Center from Bradbury. That includes myself. I never understood the Pats favoring him over Strange for LG. Through week 9, Wilson was no better than Layden Robinson was last year. Weeks 10-16, Wilson was very good, giving up no sacks, 1 QB hit and 5 hurries on 196 pass attempts. That's 1 pressure every 32 passing snaps. But he regressed badly in the play-offs. He allowed. 4 sacks and 9 hurries on 160 passing snaps. (1pressure per 17 passing snaps).

If the goal is to eventually move Wilson to C, then you need to have him taking center snaps 100% this off-season with the goal of him supplanting Bradbury for the start of the season. Otherwise, you're not helping him, imho.

You bring in McGovern to be the LG. He also gives you insurance for Center in the event that Wilson can't win the starting Center job from Bradbury. You might even go so far as to cut Bradbury and have Wilson battle McGovern for the starting center spot. If Wilson can handle it, great. If not, you've got a veteran in McGovern who is still an upgrade over Bradbury.

Yes, the Pats have Wallace and Ben Brown. They brought back UDFA Mekhi Butler as well as Andrew Rupcich.
Will the Pats add a vet guard besides McGovern? That depends on what they feel they have in Wallace and Brown.

I expect the Pats to add a guard in the Draft to groom behind Onwenu unless they feel that Wallace is their guy to take over there.

 

[p8ryts]

The problem with Bitonio is that he's 34 going on 35. You have no idea how much he has left. He's as likely to retire in camp as Schweitzer was last season. If you're making a change, you bring in someone who can be there for 3-5 years.

It's been fan speculation since he was drafted that Wilson would be taking over at Center from Bradbury. That includes myself. I never understood the Pats favoring him over Strange for LG. Through week 9, Wilson was no better than Layden Robinson was last year. Weeks 10-16, Wilson was very good, giving up no sacks, 1 QB hit and 5 hurries on 196 pass attempts. That's 1 pressure every 32 passing snaps. But he regressed badly in the play-offs. He allowed. 4 sacks and 9 hurries on 160 passing snaps. (1pressure per 17 passing snaps).

If the goal is to eventually move Wilson to C, then you need to have him taking center snaps 100% this off-season with the goal of him supplanting Bradbury for the start of the season. Otherwise, you're not helping him, imho.

You bring in McGovern to be the LG. He also gives you insurance for Center in the event that Wilson can't win the starting Center job from Bradbury. You might even go so far as to cut Bradbury and have Wilson battle McGovern for the starting center spot. If Wilson can handle it, great. If not, you've got a veteran in McGovern who is still an upgrade over Bradbury.

Yes, the Pats have Wallace and Ben Brown. They brought back UDFA Mekhi Butler as well as Andrew Rupcich.
Will the Pats add a vet guard besides McGovern? That depends on what they feel they have in Wallace and Brown.

I expect the Pats to add a guard in the Draft to groom behind Onwenu unless they feel that Wallace is their guy to take over there.

Who was playing LT in games 10~16

 

[AQPE]

The problem with Bitonio is that he's 34 going on 35. You have no idea how much he has left. He's as likely to retire in camp as Schweitzer was last season. If you're making a change, you bring in someone who can be there for 3-5 years.

It's been fan speculation since he was drafted that Wilson would be taking over at Center from Bradbury. That includes myself. I never understood the Pats favoring him over Strange for LG. Through week 9, Wilson was no better than Layden Robinson was last year. Weeks 10-16, Wilson was very good, giving up no sacks, 1 QB hit and 5 hurries on 196 pass attempts. That's 1 pressure every 32 passing snaps. But he regressed badly in the play-offs. He allowed. 4 sacks and 9 hurries on 160 passing snaps. (1pressure per 17 passing snaps).

If the goal is to eventually move Wilson to C, then you need to have him taking center snaps 100% this off-season with the goal of him supplanting Bradbury for the start of the season. Otherwise, you're not helping him, imho.

You bring in McGovern to be the LG. He also gives you insurance for Center in the event that Wilson can't win the starting Center job from Bradbury. You might even go so far as to cut Bradbury and have Wilson battle McGovern for the starting center spot. If Wilson can handle it, great. If not, you've got a veteran in McGovern who is still an upgrade over Bradbury.

Yes, the Pats have Wallace and Ben Brown. They brought back UDFA Mekhi Butler as well as Andrew Rupcich.
Will the Pats add a vet guard besides McGovern? That depends on what they feel they have in Wallace and Brown.

I expect the Pats to add a guard in the Draft to groom behind Onwenu unless they feel that Wallace is their guy to take over there.

This is a good point, one I failed to recall myself. Strange is certainly not a top level guard and may not even be a mid level guard but from my vantage point is superior to Brown and Wilson at guard. Woulda coulda shoulda now. There are better options on the horizon for LG than either Wilson or Brown. I hope they sign one, move Wilson to center where I think he’d beat out Bradbury, and hope either the right guy falls to them at 31 or Bryant is legit for RT next season.

 

[mike_usagisan]

This is a good point, one I failed to recall myself. Strange is certainly not a top level guard and may not even be a mid level guard but from my vantage point is superior to Brown and Wilson at guard. Woulda coulda shoulda now. There are better options on the horizon for LG than either Wilson or Brown. I hope they sign one, move Wilson to center where I think he’d beat out Bradbury, and hope either the right guy falls to them at 31 or Bryant is legit for RT next season.

I think Moses is probably RT next season, and they need to either draft one for depth/succession.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Why would you want Onwenu to kick out to RT?

He wouldn't. The team would because tight guard might be easier to find than right tackle or even cheaper

 

[DaBruinz]

Who was playing LT in games 10~16

I'm guessing you're asking in reference to Wilson's improved play after week 9. Campbell played LT during weeks 10-12 until he got hurt in Week 12 against Cincy. Then Lowe came in and finished the game against the Bengals. Lowe started weeks 13, 15,16, 17. Week 18 was Campbell again.

 

[DaBruinz]

I think Moses is probably RT next season, and they need to either draft one for depth/succession.

I honestly think that Bryant will be battling someone for the RT spot unless Bryant's issues can't be over-come. There were supposedly some maturity issues and rubbing the wrong way of Marrone and Vrabel by him. We'll see what happens.

I think that if Bryant corrects his issues and they retain Munford, the two of them will battle for the RT spot. Otherwise, I could see the Pats using a 1st/2nd round pick in 2027 to add one.

 

[JoeSixPat]

LG wont help Campbell on the edge or driven backwards 5 yards into Maye.

LT is a top pick.

Although I realize he wasn't up against the top Ds early in the season, I feel like the first 12 games before his injury he was more than holding his own.

After that I say him using some pretty savvy technique at time to hold up his man despite the ACL issue

LG is to me the weakest link and save for the edge rushers like you note, it's not helpful for LT not to have a strong LG playing alongside them, or so John Hannah tells me.

That being said, anyone they get in FA or the draft better have some LT experience as we need depth there period. Camp competition will take care of the rest.

Regarding the edge rusher "problem" if indeed the first 12 games were the outliers, I also see them investing in TE in the offseason and you can bet they'll be looking for someone who can serve as a good blocking TE, as that's always a benefit in protecting the QB and giving a guy like Maye time to find the downfield guy.