Patriots eye new offensive line options with postseason push getting real

The New England Patriots' offensive line took a massive blow against the Bengals, losing both their left tackle, Will Campbell, and left guard Jared Wilson, a pair of rookies, for what looks to be the remainder of the regular season. While Campbell's MCL sprain means he could return for the playoffs and Wilson could be back in a month, reinforcements will no doubt be necessary.

In addition to the pair being done for the game, right tackle Morgan Moses missed part of the game due to illness, but later returned. Campbell was succeeded by 2024 starter Vederian Lowe, while Wilson was replaced by Ben Brown, last season's starting center. Seventh-round pick Marcus Bryant played in place of Moses when he was getting treatment.

Maye was sacked only once in the game, but they also played a horrendous Bengals front. Each Lowe, Brown, and Bryant held their own during their stints, but it was never part of the plan for any of them to play meaningful snaps.

The right side of the line will remain intact, but finding solid fill-ins to compete with Lowe and Brown will be incredibly important. The Patriots have some options to do exactly that.

Offensive line depth will be key to keep the Patriots' offense running smoothly

In-house options

There's very little doubt in anyone's mind that the immediate starters on the left side of the line will continue to be Lowe and Brown. While neither is elite, they've had stints of solid play. Lowe, 26, was a sixth-round pick from Illinois by the Vikings in 2022. The Patriots traded for him on cutdown day before the 2023 season, and he has played in 30 games since, starting 21.

Brown, 27, bounced around on practice squads before settling in as the starting center when David Andrews was placed on season-ending IR last year. He ascended Cole Strange as the top interior backup in preseason, and narrowly lost the left guard competition to Wilson. At this point, Brown may actually be a slight step up from Wilson in terms of immediate production, who's allowed four sacks in 12 games.

Last year's third-round pick, Caedan Wallace, is slotted to be the top interior backup now. He's the only player who's been a healthy scratch every game this year. The practice squad features Brenden Jaimes, who has three career starts; Sebastian Gutierrez, who's played two career games; and Andrew Rupcich, who made both his career starts in Tennessee under Mike Vrabel during the 2023 season.

Jaimes has 46 games under his belt in his career, so he seems the most likely addition to the roster if they opt for someone on the interior. While he has played exclusively center and guard in his career, with all starts at center, he started at tackle for four seasons at Nebraska, his last three seasons coming on the left side. At 6-foot-5, he has the size for it and could make a solid short-term swing option.

Potential Additions

With the trade deadline over, the next best option is looking to other teams' practice squads to add depth to the offensive line. Taking a look around the league, there are some interesting options. Kendrick Green, a 2021 third-round pick by the Steelers, has extended periods of guard and center play. He is currently on the Bills' practice squad.

Jack Driscoll, who won a Super Bowl with the Eagles last year, is on the Steelers' practice squad, and he, too, has experience at guard, while also playing some tackle. He has 67 games played to his name with 18 starts. Kadeem Telfort of the Dolphins is massive at 6-foot-7, and he, too, has tackle flexibility despite playing mostly guard as a pro.

If they opt to go younger, two practice squad players who could make a ton of sense to take a look at would be Hollin Pierce (Eagles) and Garrett Dellinger (Browns). Pierce is a UDFA from Rutgers who started at left tackle for his last three seasons. He's massive at 6-foot-8, 341 pounds, and produced in the Big 10, recording an 85.5 PFF grade in 2024 and playing over 3,100 snaps in his career.

The second option, Dellinger, was a seventh-round pick by the Ravens out of LSU this year. He signed with the Browns' practice squad in August. He played 2,000 snaps in four years with the Tigers, but struggled with injuries in 2022 and '24 that hurt his availability. He allowed two sacks in his last three seasons in the SEC, and played all line positions but right tackle there. He settled at left guard, but his tackle flexibility should be appealing to Doug Marrone.

The Patriots' offensive line certainly took a hit this week, and with Doug Marrone in the building as an experienced coach, there's little doubt they'll put together at least an okay product until the rookies get back. To form that product, look for some of these names as potential additions to the line.

UPDATE: