Patriots add Marshall Newhouse after Marcus Cannon injury

In the wake of losing starting right tackle Marcus Cannon to a shoulder injury on Sunday night, the Patriots have reportedly signed Marshall Newhouse.

If there’s one area to be concerned about after the New England Patriots’ 33-3 dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night, it’s the depth along the offensive line. The starters all looked rock-solid against Pittsburgh’s defensive front line – particularly when it came to pass protection and keeping quarterback Tom Brady upright – but there’s still a disturbing lack of reinforcements waiting in the wings behind those same starters.

This is part of the reason why the Patriots have been so active in recent weeks on the trade market. They orchestrated deals with the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, and Buffalo Bills for offensive linemen Korey Cunningham, Jermaine Eluemunor, and Russell Bodine, respectively. While Bodine didn’t stick on the final roster, both Cunningham and Eluemunor are still around.

As a matter of fact, Eluemunor was pressed into emergency action during the fourth quarter against the Steelers when starting right tackle Marcus Cannon went down with what looked like a serious shoulder injury. Thankfully, it now appears that Cannon’s injury is neither season-ending nor particularly serious, but he’s still likely to miss some time while it heals, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Cannon has become one of the most improved players on this Patriots roster over the past four years. His absence is certainly a cause for concern, though it’s at least a silver lining that New England won’t face any 2018 playoff teams until a Week 9 road trip against the Baltimore Ravens. Hopefully Cannon will have made his return to the lineup by that point – especially considering how frightening Baltimore’s defense looked in their season opener.

In the meantime, the Patriots have reportedly signed free agent tackle Marshall Newhouse, according to an ESPN report. Newhouse was most recently with the New Orleans Saints, though his last NFL game was played with the Carolina Panthers back in 2018.

A former fifth-round draft pick out of TCU, Marshall Newhouse has played for eight different teams over the course of his 10-year career, including New England now. He has experience playing and starting for teams at both left and right tackle, which presumably makes him a more appealing option for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia – both of whom value versatility in their linemen.

It’s unclear at this point just how the Patriots plan to deploy their starting offensive line against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon. Isaiah Wynn, Ted Karras, and Shaq Mason will likely remain at the left tackle, center, and right guard spots, respectively.

Joe Thuney will either stay at left guard where he normally plays, or he could see time at right tackle as well. If he remains at left guard, expect the Patriots to insert one of either Cunningham, Eluemunor, or Newhouse at right tackle.