Patriots' most glaring weakness has stood out like a sore thumb this preseason

The New England Patriots have done most of the work in joint practices. As a result, Mike Vrabel has been able to see his guys in a competitive setting without adding the burden of preseason games.

Outside of younger players, the starters have skipped both preseason contests, and there's still no word on whether that'll change for the final dress rehearsal. Judging by Coach Vrabel's concerns about the team's apparent lack of depth, that might not be the case.

Vrabel recently cited the team's thinness at certain positions as the main reason for sitting starters in the preseason. After two games, that seems to be even more of the case with their linebacker corps, as they don't seem to have many reliable options right now.

The Patriots may need to do something at linebacker before the season begins

Chad Muma turned some heads earlier in training camp. He looked like a roster lock after some rave reviews about his aggressiveness and instincts, but that hasn't been on display through the first two preseason games.

He struggled mightily with missed tackles against the Indianapolis Colts, and things weren't much better against the Philadelphia Eagles. He must work on his pursuit angles, but he might be running out of time to do so in Foxborough.

Undrafted free agent Khalil Jacobs and K.J. Britt are also trying to make the roster, but the latter was also a weak link in Week 1, and the former might be better suited for a special teams role at this point in his development.

The Patriots will have to keep at least one of them on the roster to join projected starters Christian Elliss and Robert Spillane in the linebackers room, but that's far from an encouraging picture, especially given Elliss' recent injuries.

There aren't many options still up for grabs at this point in the offseason. They showed an interest in veteran Shaq Thompson, who's already familiar with the AFC East, but their meeting didn't lead to a signing.

Other guys like Bobby Okereke, Matt Milano, or even Logan Wilson could be interesting pickups, or the Patriots can play the waiting game and hope that the right guy fails to make another team's 53-man roster.

Whatever the case, this is definitely something to keep an eye on. The defensive backfield looks sharp, and the pass-rushing department might be just fine if Gabe Jacas can contribute as a rookie, but they could certainly use more bodies in the second level of the defense.

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