FOXBOROUGH — Drake Maye worked up an appetite as the Patriots dismantled the Bears in Chicago.
As he made his way around the visitors’ locker room at Soldier Field congratulating every teammate in sight, the rookie quarterback also had a proposition for his offensive line.
“Let’s go get something to eat on Monday,” Maye said to the group. “Let’s go get something to eat tomorrow!”
Fortunately for Maye, his linemen already had dinner plans, and invited him to join. As the Patriots finally find some continuity on the offensive line, that group is working to foster chemistry off the field, too. That means group dinners away from football on Monday nights.
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“Just building more connections outside of football. This game is already super stressful as it is,” Vederian Lowe said. “We’re here all day. It gives everybody a chance to get to know each other more outside of work. That just builds a strong connection, so when we come in here, we already have a better connection. We decided to do that, so that way we can all just start building a better connection, more chemistry, so that we can just have more consistency throughout the group.”
Barring something unforeseen, New England will start the same five offensive linemen in back-to-back games for the first time all season when the Rams come to Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
Two starters weren’t even with the team in training camp, as Demontrey Jacobs was in Denver and Ben Brown was on the Raiders practice squad until the Patriots claimed him in October. Meanwhile, Michael Jordan began the season on the Patriots practice squad, Lowe has battled three different injuries, and even Mike Onwenu has practiced at three different spots.
These guys haven’t had a ton of time together. So they’re trying to add a meal on Monday nights to build camaraderie. Though they’re together constantly during the week, the vibe when they hang out away from Gillette Stadium is a different one.
“Just having some outside time, some time outside the building where we can just get together and be human for a second,” Jacobs said. “Get to know each other better. I feel like that just helps us play better, the more we get to know each other and become acquainted with each other as human beings.”
Monday makes the most sense because players are off Tuesday. Anyone else is welcome, running backs, wide receivers — even quarterbacks — though Maye was hardly an interloper. The linemen want to get to know each other better while keeping an open-door policy.
“The camaraderie is great for a bunch of reasons,” Jordan said. “I think that if you connect with people on a personal level, it makes you play harder for one another because you’re sharing layers of yourself that you wouldn’t normally do so in a work environment.”
Of the nine active offensive linemen, only three were on New England’s 53-man roster at the conclusion of training camp. So the more time this group gets together, the better.
“There’s been a lot of moving parts with guys in and out of our room, so just getting more acclimated with guys that are in the room,” Onwenu said.
Newer players lean on veterans like Ownenu, who have been in the area the longest, to come up with the best restaurant picks. As is often the case in the NFL, steakhouses are the norm — Grill 23 in Boston is a favorite — but there may be changes on the horizon. There’s a grassroots movement brewing for pizza, though the proposal has been met with a bit of pushback.
“I’d be so fat if I ate pizza. Can’t do that,” one lineman retorted.
Ultimately, the food isn’t what matters. It’s about getting to know more about the guys they’re lining up alongside every Sunday.
“It can’t hurt being closer with your teammates. I strongly believe that helps,” Brown said. “You learn more about your brothers and who you’re playing with out there. You will trust one another more. I think it’s a great thing to do.”
With Maye in the fold last Monday, the linemen had a great time. They’re hopeful that the laughs they shared will enhance their chemistry on Sunday afternoon against Los Angeles. But win or lose, they’ll likely be bonding over ribeyes and T-Bones again on Monday night.
“Just be people for a second,” Jacobs said.
