According to New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, it sounds like the club is still exploring its options up front on offense.
Mayo said during his press conference that the team is expected to work out several offensive linemen on Friday as the club continues trying to put together its best group heading into the 2024 season.
It’s not yet known who those players are, although it’s clear that given where they are, they could certainly use some additional depth. He did add that the visits were already in place prior to last night’s game.
Thursday night saw a starting group that included Vederian Lowe (17 snaps) at left tackle, Sidy Sow (10 snaps) at left guard, David Andrews (10 snaps) at center, Mike Onwenu (10 snaps) at right guard, and Chukwuma Okorafor (10 snaps) at right tackle.
Both Okorafor and Sow have been banged up, as well as rookie Caedan Wallace (39 snaps), who actually saw a fair amount of action last night. Calvin Anderson (36 snaps), who saw limited action Thursday night was also out there, although he still doesn’t appear to be fully healthy after getting nicked up this week.
Overall, the Patriots had a decent night running the football, finishing with 113 yards of total rushing on 30 attempts, albeit they still had four runs with either no gain or a loss. However, pass protection was certainly an issue, as Bailey Zappe was sacked twice, and Milton was forced out of the pocket on several occasions while he was out there.
Drake Maye also had some pressure on a couple of snaps during his brief appearance, which saw him check the football down and avoid taking a hit. Mayo admitted after the game the uncertainty up front was one of the reasons for the limited playing time for both Maye and Brissett Thursday night.
As a result, Mayo admitted that they’re still evaluating who they’ll ultimately be starting a few weeks from now, and essentially said they’re still a work in progress.
“Yeah, they’re still under construction, the offensive line,” Mayo said on Friday. “I’ve said it since day one, we’re going to play the best five, whatever that combination looks like.”
“We’re always trying to get better. We’re bringing in some linemen today for a workout, so we’re always trying to get better and improve the front. It all starts there with the offensive line, the defensive line when it comes to winning football games. So, definitely an important part.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
Unquestionably the biggest short term need. O-Tackle.