Patriots offensive line depth tested as illness hits locker room

5 days ago 2

FOXBOROUGH – The Patriots had some good news and bad news to start the week on Wednesday.

The team saw edge rusher Harold Landry return to practice after missing the previous two weeks with a knee injury. The Patriots also had Jared Wilson return to practice after missing the previous two games with a concussion.

Wilson’s presence was important because the Patriots are running low on offensive linemen due to an illness that has hit the locker room.

On Wednesday, Mike Vrabel said that the Patriots were dealing with a sickness that kept a handful of players at home. The team was without starting right tackle Morgan Moses, starting center Garrett Bradbury, backup tackle Vederian Lowe, and edge rusher Anfernee Jennings.

All four players are dealing with an illness.

The absence of three offensive linemen was seen at practice, with just three starters in the lineup – Wilson, Will Campbell, and Michael Onwenu. Although he returned, Wilson wasn’t a full participant, wearing a red non-contact jersey. That means the left guard is in the final stages of the NFL concussion protocol.

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Without Moses, the Patriots practiced with Thayer Munford and Marcus Bryant at right tackle. Ben Brown was the top center on Wednesday with Bradbury out. The team also has center Brenden Jaimes, guard Mehki Butler, and guard Andrew Rupcich on the practice squad.

The Patriots will need a healthy offensive line this weekend against Los Angeles. The Chargers enter this matchup with one of the top pass rushes in the NFL, with 45 total sacks.

“I mean, it’ll be critical this week against a good front and a good defense,” Vrabel said of his offensive line. “So, that’s what’s going to matter. I think they’ve continued to improve and helped us stay balanced. I mean, games where we didn’t run the football as well as we would like, but then we had games where we really ran it really well. I think they’re trying to do a good job of protecting Drake [Maye] and giving us opportunities.”