The New England Patriots have been battered by injuries during the first half of this season. The wide receiver room has felt the brunt of those injuries, but the offensive line hasn't been spared either.
In Week 3, Mike Onwenu suffered a season-ending leg injury. Greg Van Roten replaced him, but he, too, was placed on IR with a thigh injury. Alijah Vera-Tucker, who missed all of last season with the Jets, was also placed on IR following a hamstring injury.
While it isn't expected to end his season, he likely will need significant time off, per multiple reports.
The interior hasn't been the only position affected, with Will Campbell missing time against the Raiders and Marcus Bryant missing the first eight games of the season.
The team inked veteran Matt Pryor to a one-year deal to help stop the bleeding, while Walter Rouse and Ben Brown have each spent time at left guard in Vera-Tucker's wake. Brown has been used more sparingly because of his center flexibility, but Rouse was benched at halftime in his favor.
New England went on to score 21 points in the second half after a lone field goal in the first two quarters, so Brown taking over at left guard wouldn't be a surprise.
While the patchwork line has done a solid enough job so far, the team should continue improving the unit. While they've been able to do so via Pryor, they could look to the trade market to add another veteran.
The Patriots should inquire about Packers' Kevin Zeitler
While Pryor and Rouse have done the job, if New England's goal is to return to the Super Bowl, adding to the interior offensive line could be wise. Specifically, adding a guard who could offer an immediate impact would be ideal. The Patriots' next opponent, the Green Bay Packers, have a player who fits the bill.
When the Patriots were in the midst of their offensive line rebuild in the spring, I wrote an article highlighting a few options for the reconstruction.
Option #4 in that article suggested the Patriots trade Garrett Bradbury and slide Jared Wilson to center, while selecting Caleb Lomu in the first round as a successor to Morgan Moses. To fill Wilson's vacant left guard position, the team would have signed Zeitler.
Last season was strong for the veteran, who played 909 snaps at right guard and started 16 games for the Titans after signing a one-year deal. He was penalized four times and was granted a 74.5 PFF grade. While he conceded four sacks, he allowed just a 2.7% pressure rate, among the best in the league.
Despite his strong season, Zeitler didn't have many suitors in free agency and eventually signed with the Packers at the end of September as a backup. At nearly 37, he's no doubt a short-term solution at guard, but a stopgap has value nonetheless.
Zeitler hasn't played a snap for the Packers. Instead, they've used Travis Glover, and when he missed Week 8, Laken Tomlinson replaced him. Since Zeitler has played 14,403 of his 14,407 career snaps at right guard, he lacks the versatility to fill multiple spots along the offensive line.
Seeing how low he sits in the Packers' depth chart, Green Bay would be wise to trade him if offered a pick.
Enter the Patriots, who hold six sixth- and seventh-round picks over the next two seasons. Mike Vrabel hasn't been afraid to trade late-round capital for depth, as he did with Corey Kiner and the aforementioned Rouse at the end of August. He could opt to do the same with Zeitler.
While the Packers are certainly in win-now mode, adding a draft pick for a third string guard who's been on the team for only a month would be sensible.
While New England may shuffle things around, Zeitler could slide into his preferred right guard spot, while Matt Pryor could slide to the left side, where he has 126 career snaps. Alternatively, they may look for Zeitler to make the late transition to left guard in what could be the final season of his career.
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