One of the biggest problems the Patriots have faced in recent years is a lack of depth across nearly every position. Although much of the team has improved this offseason, the issue persists this year, as well.
The primary focus surrounds the offensive line, as different starting groups were put onto the field almost every week during the 2024 season, and while that's not the case under Mike Vrabel so far, it's not great to see that some of their potentially usable backups are being poached from the practice squad to other teams.
That is the case with two players being signed from the practice squad over the last two days, starting with the departure of linebacker Mark Robinson, who was signed by the Jets. Linebackers have been an inconsistent group for the Patriots so far, so losing a potential replacement could become a problem down the road.
But making matters possibly worse is seeing the Browns steal OT Thayer Munford Jr. on Wednesday, as they have been dealing with their own offensive line issues to start the year.
Practice-squad move: OT Thayer Munford Jr. has been signed by the Browns to their 53-man roster. So the Patriots have 2 openings that are likely to be filled today.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 24, 2025
The Patriots cannot afford to keep losing practice squad players this year
Although practice squad players are far from starting-level talent, the Patriots have already elevated a few to the game day roster through the first three games, so seeing talent sign elsewhere could become problematic if they had the talent they could have used.
That is especially true for the offensive line, which already has limited depth as it is, which is likely why they chose to sign Royce Newman almost immediately after the news broke about Munford Jr. moving on to Cleveland.
There is a locker for OL Royce Newman here at Gillette, which indicates he will be filling one of the Patriots’ open practice-squad spots.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 24, 2025
Newman entered the NFL in 2021 as a fourth-round pick of the Packers out of Ole Miss.
Time with Green Bay, Tampa Bay and Arizona.
They are fortunate to have a starting group that appears to be pretty solid with Will Campbell at left tackle, Mike Onwenu at right guard, and Morgan Moses at right tackle. They also lucked out by finding a stellar talent to succeed David Andrews at center in Garrett Bradbury, and Jared Wilson has been reliable at left guard despite his rookie status.
But beyond the starting group, it's pretty bare, and that could become a disaster if anything were to happen to one of their starting players. That's what makes anyone leaving the practice squad a bit more concerning, and it will certainly be something worthy of monitoring as the season progresses.