The Patriots went to Minnesota early this week to have a few days of joint practice with the Vikings ahead of their Week 2 preseason matchup. On the first day, the teams were pretty even with their performances, but that's far from the case on Thursday, as the home team was on a heater against New England's defense.
Part of that might be due to the inconsistency of the offensive line, which has been a concern this summer due to the pressure on young players to be day one starters. One of those players, center/left guard Jared Wilson, has outperformed expectations, only to leave practice early and not return.
Unclear if Brown is in over Wilson due to injury or performance.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) August 14, 2025
Wilson began the practice on the field and fully padded, with Brown playing over him in a half-speed period.
Moments later, during one-on-ones but without taking a rep, Wilson left the field. Hasn’t returned. https://t.co/Nv87kzNYgm
The Georgia alum was drafted earlier this year and was projected to be the next starting center after David Andrews' release and eventual retirement. However, he's proven himself to be their next starting left guard, as Cole Strange has seemingly fallen down the depth chart, and is expected to be among the starters as soon as Week 1.
That might be in doubt now that he might have suffered an injury.
The Patriots might have a depth problem on the offensive line with another injury scare
The Patriots' offensive line was among the worst of the worst throughout the 2024 season, which explains why Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf prioritized the group this offseason. It led them to take Will Campbell with the No. 4 overall pick in this year's draft, along with adding even more players in the later rounds.
They have seemingly lucked out with Wilson, who has impressed since OTAs this spring and has seemingly solidified himself as a starter along with fellow rookie Campbell, Morgan Moses, and Mike Onwenu.
That leaves only the center to be addressed, which Wilson has been dabbling with at practice, and now that's more questionable with his early departure from practice on Thursday.
It could force Vrabel and Co. to look into signing more free agent linemen to boost the roster in case of disaster. Hopefully, Wilson isn't seriously injured and exited practice as a precaution. It would be an absolute disaster for the Patriots to lose a player with such high potential just weeks before the season begins.