Did this move happen because the staff realized they liked him as a guard over center? Or was it more due to the Cole Strange fallout that created a hole at LG, basically they then just tried to get the best 5 out there.
If I remember right, I think Strange was the plan at LG before the staff realized he just wasn’t getting healthy and wasn’t the same guy. Wilson was supposed to sit behind Bradbury for a year, unless he beat him out in camp. I think it was pretty close competition in camp until Strange being out began to shift Wilson over to LG.
Would be a notable difference, since Wilson wasn’t moved out of the staff’s fit preference for him, but more out of necessity.
I remember writing about that a bunch during last preseason, and I did some digging:
From this entry:
This is generally the time in training camp where some players begin taking hold of a role, and so far this preseason, it appears that rookie offensive lineman Jared Wilson may have taken the lead at the left guard spot.
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This is generally the time in training camp where some players begin taking hold of a role, and so far this preseason, it appears that rookie offensive lineman
Jared Wilson may have taken the lead at the left guard spot.
Wilson seemed to be in the initial mix at center, but the quarterback/center exchange has been an issue, which appeared to have hampered his opportunity in the reps he saw there. Instead, after also being part of the competition at left guard against
Cole Strange, the rookie spent a good portion of Wednesday’s practice there with the first team, while Strange worked with the back-ups at the start of practice.
That ended up being how things remained. That’s clearly good news for Wilson, potentially signaling that the rookie is now in line to win the job, provided he can keep it going for the next month, beginning when the club holds its first joint practices next week against the Commanders.
Meanwhile, Strange ended up getting some time at center on Wednesday, with his work there last season being something Patriots head coach
Mike Vrabel praised him for earlier this offseason. However, even with
Garrett Bradbury sidelined, Strange was simply part of the rotation, and last year’s starter,
Ben Brown, ended up as the top player there ahead of him.
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
That’s not a great sign, and Strange is in a tough spot. With multiple younger players battling for roles, he’s in the final year of his deal, with the Patriots declining his fifth-year option over the offseason. He’s also coming off of a significant knee injury that cost him a good portion of last season.
What gets a little lost here is the fact that Strange tried to be a good soldier in 2023 after suffering a knee injury early in camp. Rather than have surgery, he opted to battle through it and instead ended up injuring it further when he was finally knocked out of action in Week 15 against the Chiefs.
That cost him a significant portion of last offseason, and there were fears at the beginning of the year
he might not have played at all in 2024. As it was, Strange didn’t begin practicing with the team until Week 12, and finally saw action in Week 15 against the Bills where he played three snaps on special teams. He closed out the season playing 100% of the snaps over the final two games,
both of which saw him get the starting nod at center.
As a result, that decision – at least given where he’s at right now – may have seemingly been career-altering, which has to be frustrating for the former Chattanooga standout.
Barring a standout performance (and he also experienced a bad snap on Wednesday), it’s going to be tough for him to crack the starting role at either spot. If that’s the case, he faces a difficult road over the coming weeks as the club continues trying to establish its group of five up front heading into the 2025 season.
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One other mention of when Wilson was working at center earlier the day before, which happened after Bradbury left practice:
Some good news on Christian Gonzalez yesterday. NFL reporter Jordan Schultz reported on Tuesday that the leg injury suffered by the third-year defensive back that forced him out of practice Monday apparently isn't severe.
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Both Bradbury and Wilson have had a tough time at center so far at camp, at least when it comes to the quarterback and center exchange.
It’s happened multiple times with both players, and appears to be an ongoing issue.
On Tuesday, Vrabel penalized them, pulling Maye and the offense off the field following a bad snap between he and Bradbury during the 11-on-11 period.
This is the time of year where things like this need to be worked out, but the fact it’s happened as often as it has and continues to happen is going to be something that you have to hope gets figured out before they start playing meaningful games.
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And the day before that, Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston felt like Cole Strange was in the lead for the spot, so it sort of shows you how it shifted just over the course of a few days:
The Patriots suffered their first injury scare of the preseason on Monday, with defensive back Christian Gonzalez going down midway through the session.
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Rookie lineman
Jared Wilson had a solid day along the offensive line and appears to be in position to make a run at a starting role, but the rookie still has one issue that has shown up that he’s yet to overcome.
He had two bad exchanges with Drake Maye at center on Monday, which adds to others he’s run into during the early portion of training camp.
That is something that is certainly going to play into whether or not he can ultimately step into the position at center. He’s been in the mix at left guard, but according to Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston,
Cole Strange had a solid showing there and appears to be moving well after a full offseason where he was healthy coming back from the knee injury he had from a year ago.
“Yeah, with Cole Strange, I thought he won his one-on-one rep against
Milton Williams, so that’s a big check for me in a pass protection situation,”
said Perry. “But I also saw him just moving well on the field, Tom [Curran]. For a guy who had a devastating knee injury, we know a couple of years ago, they’re going to ask him – Josh McDaniels is a big fan of this gap scheme type of running game. It’s not the zone running game necessarily, although he’ll sprinkle some of that in well, where you’re hauling tail to the sideline in a full sprint if you’re playing on the offensive line. But he will ask you to pull.”
“And we saw Cole Strange pull today, and I thought he moved great. I thought he got to the second level, sealed off a block for a nice chunk in the run game. So he’s strung together a bunch of good practices, and that left guard job, in my opinion, is his to lose.”
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And it started on Day One, and Caedan Wallace was even in the mix there:
Wednesday was the start of New England Patriots training camp, and here is a quick rundown of a few things we learned after the first session.
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Cole Strange got the nod with the first team on Wednesday, but both Caedan Wallace and Jared Wilson (who also got reps at center) were also in the mix.
That’s the position that seems to be in question up front, and Strange’s situation is certainly interesting. The club declined his fifth-year option this offseason, making this potentially his final year in New England.
They’ve been a better team running the football when he’s been on the field, but injuries the last two years have hampered him. It feels like there’s going to be a pretty good battle there, and the door might be open for someone to push him for that spot. On Wednesday, it was Wallace, who after dealing with an injury of his own last year, might now be competing for an opportunity at a different position.
It’s difficult to judge much of anything without pads and we’re only one day in. But it’s clear that spot will remain one to keep an eye on.
