Who the Patriots trot out at quarterback in Week 1 probably won’t matter a whole lot if the offensive line is a disaster, and they offered few signs for optimism this preseason.
Easily the biggest question mark on the roster entering camp, the offensive line was a mess in three preseason games. Sunday was the nadir with the line getting worked over by Commanders reserves, particularly in the passing game. One such instance in the first quarter resulted in a sack in which Jacoby Brissett got rocked and hurt his shoulder.
Injuries, namely the knee issue ailing Cole Strange, is undoubtedly impacting the unit. When healthy, the combination of Chukwuma Okorafor, Strange, David Andrews, Sidy Sow and Michael Onwenu from left to right is probably what would make up the No. 1 unit. There’s positional versatility in the group though, so there could be plenty of mixing and matching.
Wherever the pieces fall, they need to keep the quarterback – whether it’s Brissett or Drake Maye – upright, head coach Jerod Mayo said Monday in his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show.
“You always want to support a rookie quarterback no matter who it is with a great O-line and receivers that can catch the ball and make things right and run and make big plays. All those things," Mayo said. "Right now, the O-Line is continuing to try to jell. Pre-snap penalties aside, I thought they did some good things last night, as well, especially in the run game.
“To your point, you want the quarterback to feel comfortable back there no matter who it is – it could be (Tom) Brady back there or it could be Drake Maye, I don’t know – but you want those guys to be comfortable behind the offensive line. We still have some time.
“I understand the season is a couple weeks away, but we still have some time for the quarterbacks to build that trust in the offensive line and the coaching staff and (among) the players…. It’s not always putting the best person at an individual spot, it’s about which combination gives us the best chance to win football games.”
New England’s offensive line would be in a more perilous place had they not managed to re-sign Onwenu this offseason to a three-year deal. Beyond that, they didn't make many splashy moves on the line.
The play of the unit in preseason certainly opens the Patriots to questions about whether they did enough to address the line in free agency or the draft -- where they used third- and fourth-round picks on Caedan Wallace and Layden Robinson, respectively. Whether they did enough or not, more moves seem to be forthcoming.
“We felt like we signed the best O-lineman in free agency in Big Mike, that’s No. 1. Now, his versatility whether it’s guard and tackle is another conversation. But we did address the O-line,” Mayo said. “I would also say looking out the front windshield, we have an opportunity to improve our team through the waiver wire. We’re in a very unique situation right now where we’re third on the waiver wire and there will be some good players that get released from their team. We’re going to try to take advantage of that.
“Like I said, the starting guard or the starting tackle may not be on our team today, but we’ll be able to see over the next couple of days who we’re able to pick up.”