Less than a month away from the season, there are still plenty of question marks on the line.
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For most of training camp, Will Campbell and Mike Onwenu have been pretty much penciled in for their respective spots at left tackle and right guard.
The outlook for the other three positions on the offensive line has been murkier.
Left guard remains a competition. Ben Brown started in place of rookie Jared Wilson on Saturday. The Patriots had begun camp with Cole Strange as the starter. Then they switched to Wilson. The rookie had a rough preseason debut and got banged up during practice this week, so Brown got a shot with the starters.
“Just trying to get everybody to the spots that they may end up in and still have a competition at left guard,” Vrabel said. “Making sure that (Wilson) is where he needs to be. I give him credit. He wasn’t able to practice on Thursday, worked hard to get back.
“We worked him out before the game and we all decided that he would be able to play and he played and probably had some good snaps and some snaps we’ll need to improve on. So, that’s the plan just trying to get him all the work that he may need so that he’ll be able to compete.”
Garrett Bradbury has gotten the bulk of the snaps at center, though Wilson, Strange, and Brown have all taken turns snapping the ball. Bradbury had a long run as a starter in Minnesota before he was released last year.
Morgan Moses has been the starting right tackle when he’s been able to be out on the field. The 34-year-old veteran has had some scheduled rest days, along with some nagging injuries. Seventh-round rookie Marcus Bryant started Saturday’s game in place of Moses. Demontrey Jacobs has taken reps at right tackle as well.
The Patriots are still moving pieces around on the line and trying to figure things out. Vrabel was asked when he would like to have his starting five set, considering that the season is less than a month away.
“Just when it’s clear. There’s not a timeline, but I think when it becomes clear and it didn’t before and I don’t think it has yet now,” Vrabel said. “We’ll still keep working and trying to the best group in there and then get guys that are versatile and can help us behind them because very rarely are you going to play the same five throughout a 17-game season and hopefully whatever comes after that.”
“Just trying to get a good, solid group of offensive linemen and establish the first unit, but then also have some really good pieces behind them.”
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.