{"id":74253,"date":"2026-08-18T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=74253"},"modified":"2026-08-18T09:07:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:07:45","slug":"tuesday-patriots-notebook-8-18-team-taking-it-slow-with-lomu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2026\/08\/18\/tuesday-patriots-notebook-8-18-team-taking-it-slow-with-lomu\/","title":{"rendered":"Tuesday Patriots Notebook 8\/18: Team Taking it Slow With Lomu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here are some New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> news and notes for this Tuesday, August 18th, 2026:<\/p>\n

Team Taking it Slow With Lomu<\/h3>\n

The Patriots have taken some hits when it comes to their offensive line depth, with both Ben Brown and Andrew Rupcich each suffering injuries Thursday night against the Indianapolis Colts.\u00a0 Both players are expected to miss extended time, which will see both players out at least until after the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n

Brown’s status was measured in “weeks” by Vrabel on Saturday<\/strong><\/a>, while Rupcich was placed on injured reserve.\u00a0 However, Mike Reiss reported Sunday that a potential injury settlement could be coming down the road with Rupcich, which might open the door for a return this season.\u00a0 His injury is said to be a strained MCL that won’t require surgery<\/strong><\/a>, so it appears both players avoided serious injuries.<\/p>\n

Still, the injuries came to the two guys who also brought much-needed versatility.\u00a0 In addition to guard, both were also among the team’s depth at center.\u00a0 With Jared Wilson about to embark on his full season in front of Drake Maye, and with Alijah Vera-Tucker’s injury history, the Patriots needed to build quality depth this preseason.<\/p>\n

\"Jul
Ben Brown (77) and Andrew Rupcich (67).\u00a0 (PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead, they lost two key interior linemen. Despite adding Darrian Dalcourt and Joe Michalski over the weekend, New England went ahead and added one more on Monday after signing Greg Van Roten.<\/p>\n

The former Giant previously tried out with the team back on August 6th, and an opportunity is now knocking for the veteran following a rough stretch for the team.<\/p>\n

One player who could factor into the mix at guard at some point is rookie Caleb Lomu.\u00a0 Lomu has been primarily seeing time at tackle, with the rookie having spent most of his time on the right side behind Morgan Moses, along with getting some limited work at left tackle.<\/p>\n

There was talk earlier in camp that he might get some work in at guard, but that seems to be something where head coach Mike Vrabel admitted they’re trying to take things slow.<\/p>\n

With the rookie already having to adjust to playing tackle in the NFL, Vrabel explained on Monday that the goal right now is to allow him to improve and develop at tackle.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, certainly could,” said Vrabel when asked if Lomu might see time at guard due to all their injuries<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 “I think we just- what happens is, where do you feel like he can make the most strides? And you don\u2019t want to derail the improvement that he\u2019s making and some of those things. And so I\u2019m probably much like you guys and say, \u2018Hey, that it\u2019s not that big of a deal to go from tackle to guard.\u2019 I\u2019ve got a lot of coaches that probably think differently than what you guys [the media] and maybe me think, and that it\u2019s a little bigger deal.”<\/p>\n

“But I think Caleb\u2019s been working hard. He\u2019s been trying to improve. But I think at some point we will need to do that as well. And that\u2019s just trying to be fair to the kid and the player as he\u2019s developing and learning this game and this league. And then at some point in time we\u2019ll probably have to take a look in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Van Roten’s signing, it left the team math-wise one player over the limit roster-wise as of Monday night. That likely means another move needed to be made, although no report has come out yet regarding who that might have been.<\/p>\n

Van Roten, 36, has started 105 games over the course of his 11-year career, including every game in each of the last two seasons in New York with the Giants.<\/p>\n

\"Aug
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Vrabel Looking For Consistency<\/h3>\n

Coming off of Last week’s joint practice against the Colts, Vrabel said on Tuesday that one of the areas of focus this week against Philadelphia is going to be trying to build more consistency.<\/p>\n

One area of concern he had last week was trying to make sure everyone is on the same page from the beginning of practice all the way to the end as the club continues introducing new concepts and plays.<\/p>\n

He added that the habits they’re establishing now in practice are ones that likely translate into how they play on game day, so it’s important that they keep improving.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that we have to just continue to be more consistent,” said Vrabel when asked Monday if he learned anything from last week’s Colts joint practice that will help them against Philadelphia.\u00a0 “We have to continue to understand that the opponent changes, that what we see in the beginning of practice is usually going to be some of the same things that we see in the end.”<\/p>\n

“If you don\u2019t fix problems or get things addressed or recognize new plays, that\u2019s going to be what it\u2019s like in the game. So I don\u2019t know if I learned anything other than we have to continue to keep improving. And that\u2019s the goal.”<\/p>\n

The team is set to hold two sessions against the Eagles ahead of Saturday’s preseason game, with the first one beginning to tomorrow, followed by a second one on Thursday.<\/p>\n

When asked how different things might look given that they’ll be practicing twice this week compared to the single session they had last week against Indianapolis, Vrabel said the approach won’t change, but that they’ll simply expand on the things they are able to work on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s much different,” said Vrabel. “I think that we\u2019ll be able to do a lot more field work on the first day and then probably focus on the red zone the next day. But other than that, we tried to put everything into one day versus Indy, and now we\u2019ll have much more concentrated work second day in the red zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Jun
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Odds and Ends<\/h3>\n

With all the injuries along the offensive line, Vrabel admitted Monday that this will be a big week for the younger players.\u00a0 With the Eagles coming in, they’ll be in a competitive situation, which he said he and the coaching staff will be evaluating how they perform as they try to shore things up.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I mean, I think we have to be able to evaluate the younger group and see what they do here this week and in a competitive setting, and then also in the game, and then always keep our eyes open to what it looks like around the league,\u201d said Vrabel. … Vrabel had positive comments on rookie tight end Eli Raridon<\/strong> on Monday, noting that his consistency has stood out to this point.\u00a0 “I think probably fairly well. I mean, it could always be better. I think that he\u2019s done some good things,” said Vrabel.\u00a0 “I think he\u2019s learning. He rarely makes the same mistake twice. If we coach him on something or he didn\u2019t like what he did in one day, he usually comes back the next day and does a decent job at it. You can see him consciously trying to do the things that we\u2019re asking him to do. And I think we\u2019re headed in a good direction, but a long ways to go.\u201d … Christian Gonzalez<\/strong> missed practice again Monday, and it’s tough to say just how long he’ll be out.\u00a0 Vrabel said Monday that the cornerback is in a “return to play” situation right now, which comes after he appeared to potentially get nicked up in practice at the end of last week.\u00a0 Following the Colts game, Vrabel said of Gonzalez, “Working hard, conditioning, but won\u2019t be practicing. He\u2019s not ready to get back out there and practice yet,” which continued Monday. … When it comes to his contract, the hope is that the recent extension of Seattle’s Davon Witherspoon<\/strong> might help the negotiations on an extension move forward after Adam Schefter had reported the two sides \u201chave not made much progress so far.\u201d\u00a0 When asked whether the Seattle defensive back’s deal might set a guideline for a potential deal, Vrabel expressed the fact that each situation is unique, and the goal now is just to get him back out there.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I think like a lot of things, everything is pretty unique to itself,” explained Vrabel.\u00a0 “And whether that\u2019s negotiations or that\u2019s players or the play that we\u2019re running. Certainly, those are unique and individual situations, and I think we\u2019ll try to focus on Christian\u2019s and I know he\u2019ll focus on his own situation. So we\u2019ll continue to work through that, and he\u2019ll continue to try to improve and try to get back out onto the field.\u201d … The team announced the date and time for former Patriots tight end\u00a0Rob Gronkowski’s <\/strong>Patriots Hall of Fame induction, which is set to happen this season.\u00a0 The ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 7th at Patriots Place.\u00a0 New England faces off against the Packers the next day at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, with Tom Brady<\/strong> scheduled to be in the booth for that game.\u00a0 That could mean we’ll see the QB speak during the ceremony, which provides another reason to make sure that date is circled on the calendar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patriots are taking it slow with Caleb Lomu at tackle following offensive line injuries. Vrabel seeks consistency in Eagles joint practices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":74275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_pfeai_meta_description":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10],"tags":[24838,23622,24553,23269,24172,22718,141,664,44,8,379,117,13],"class_list":["post-74253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-news","tag-andrew-rupcich","tag-ben-brown","tag-caleb-lomu","tag-christian-gonzalez","tag-eli-raridon","tag-greg-van-roten","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-mike-vrabel","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-patriots","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"\nTuesday Patriots Notebook 8\/18: Team Taking it Slow With Lomu<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Patriots are taking it slow with Caleb Lomu at tackle following offensive line injuries. 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