New England Patriots: Possible offensive free agent camp additions
By Luke O'Brien
Offensive Tackle
To be honest all the available tackles would not be an improvement or at least a significant improvement over the existing Patriots Tackles.
Even as a backup role the Patriots have youngsters in Isaiah Wynn, Antonio Garcia, Andrew Jelks and LaAdrian Waddle that they would prefer to develop rather than have an aging veteran come in instead. That leaves us with Greg Robinson.
Robinson was waived last year with an ankle injury by the Lions, and he has been a career disappointment and one of the biggest busts of recent times. He is, however, a former second overall pick from only four years ago and will turn 26 during the 2018 season. Knowing Bill Belichick’s penchant for signing former first rounders that have fallen on hard times, this might not be as crazy as it sounds.
The other options were Austin Howard, Chris Clark, Will Beatty, Eric Winston and Khalif Barnes.
Interior Linemen
In a similar vein to the offensive tackle position, the interior has a lot of personnel. The Patriots have returning players in David Andrews, Cole Croston, Ted Karras, Shaq Mason, Joe Thuney, Jason King and James Ferentz and have also added Luke Bowanko in free agency.
Although they have a lot of players at this position, outside of Mason and maybe Andrews, not many would fill you with confidence. That’s where Alex Boone comes in.
The 31-year-old has been a solid, consistent starter for seven of his eight seasons and has remained healthy throughout. While Boone would cost a bit more than your average guard, he is probably the best available at this point. His potential signing would largely depend on whether the Patriots would prefer to play Isaiah Wynn at left guard or tackle.
The other options were Luke Joeckel, Jahri Evans, Brian Schwenke, Mike Person and Allen Barbre.