The quantity of Patriot offensive linemen lost is far less than the quality missing in recent weeks, and on Sunday in Baltimore.
Most notably, rookie – and No. 4 overall pick – left tackle Will Campbell (MCL) headed to injured reserve ahead of Thanksgiving.
Campbell and fellow rookie left guard Jared Wilson exited New England’s game against the Bengals.
In recent weeks, it has been Vederian Lowe, Ben Brown and Marcus Bryant playing in place of injury and illness up front.
Lowe struggled in 2024, most notably drawing 13 penalties and personally allowing five total sacks. Brown was New England’s center last season before being demoted, and Bryant was drafted in the seventh round in April. The Patriots expected no one in this trio to play meaningful 2025 snaps.
However, the offensive line has not missed a beat.
Following their Cincinnati games, bringing in other team practice squad replacements was reported. Names such as Jack Driscoll, who won a Super Bowl one season ago in Philadelphia, Kadeem Telfort (Dolphins) and Garrett Dellinger (Browns) were floated.
Fast forward a few weeks, and none of the fill-ins have been replaced.
In a recent interview on patriots.com, Lowe discussed the line as a whole and how they spend a lot of time together, whether in practice or at position group weekly dinners. He said the line has used that extra time to work together amidst the holes and focus on two goals: protecting quarterback Drake Maye and giving him space in the pocket to step up.
However, if Baltimore can find a way to apply quarterback pressure, some of Maye’s struggles from this season might come to light.
In a back-and-forth Week 2 game against Miami, while the Patriots won, Maye failed to close out the game and needed help with a defensive stop in the high-scoring divisional affair. In a one-point win against Atlanta, Maye failed to lead a touchdown drive in the second half or score in the final 21 minutes of the game. And last week, Maye could not lead a game-winning drive against Buffalo.
“They put everything on this dude’s plate,” Defensive Coordinator Zach Orr said of Maye. “He has full control… He’s running the show. Nobody’s telling him what to do… You can see why he has the MVP hype, and why they’ve won 11 games, because he’s their best player. He has really blossomed into one of the top quarterbacks in his second year.”