With the 2024 season in the books, MassLive will look at each position group on the Patriots, analyzing how the team performed and where it might be heading in the future. This is an important offseason for new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and owner Robert Kraft. This series continues with offensive line.
Offensive line: David Andrews, Michael Onwenu, Cole Strange, Vederian Lowe, Demontrey Jacobs, Ben Brown, Layden Robinson, Caedan Wallace, Sidy Sow, Jack Andrews, Lecitus Smith, Tyrese Robinson, Lester Cotton, Caleb Jones
Contract situation: The Patriots have options but not many answers.
At center, the Patriots have depth, but most players are in the final year of their deals. David Andrews enters this season in the last year of his extension. He’ll have a cap hit of $6.676 million. Strange is in the final year of his rookie deal with a cap number of $3.899 million. Brown is an exclusive rights free agent and easy to bring back on a cheap contract.
Smith is signed through 2025 with an unguaranteed cap hit of $1.03 million. Jake Andrews will be in the third year of his rookie deal. He has a cap hit of $1.2 million and is signed through 2026.
At guard, Onwenu is one of the highest-paid players on the roster. He has a cap hit of $21 million next season. The Patriots can’t get out of this deal until 2026 when his cap hit rises to $25 million. They’d save $17.5 million by releasing Onwenu that offseason.
Layden Robinson is in the second year of his rookie deal with a $1.173 million cap hit. Sow is in the third year of his deal with a $1.221 million cap number. Tyrese Robinson is signed through 2025 with a cap hit of $960,00. Cotton is a restricted free agent.
At tackle, Lowe is signed through this season with a non-guaranteed cap hit of $3.325 million. Wallace is in the second year of his rookie contract. He has a $1.373 million cap hit and is signed through 2027. Jones has a non-guaranteed cap number of $1.03 million. Jacobs is an exclusive rights free agent.
2024 review: For the third straight season, the Patriots had major issues with pass protection. This year’s offensive line had little to no continuity and poor depth at tackle. That resulted in one of the worst pass-protecting years in New England franchise history.
In 2024, Patriots quarterbacks were sacked 52 times. That was the most since 1999 (56) and the sixth most in franchise history. The team started nine different offensive line combinations.
Problems started in the offseason. The Patriots front office whiffed with their veteran free agent signings – Chuks Okorafor, Michael Jordan, and Nick Leverett. All three were released last season.
It didn’t help that center David Andrews suffered a season-ending rotator cuff injury in Week 4. The team started Leverett one game at center before releasing him. Brown started the next 10 games. Strange transitioned to center and started the final two games. Brown ranked 39 out of 40 centers, according to Pro Football Focus.
Onwenu started at right tackle but was moved to right guard after four games. He finished the season ranked 34 out of 77 guards on PFF. A fourth-round pick, Robinson started 11 games last season with six coming at right guard and five coming on the left side. The rookie struggled, initially, allowing four sacks at right guard. He didn’t allow a sack on the left side. Pro Football Focus wasn’t kind – ranking Robinson 74 out of 77 guards.
At tackle, Okorafor quit after one game. Rookie Caedan Wallace only played in six games due to an ankle injury. The Patriots started Lowe 13 times at left tackle and Jacobs made 13 starts with 11 at right tackle. It wasn’t a banner year for Patriots tackles. Lowe finished ranked 69 out of 81 and Jacobs finished 81 out of 81, per PFF. Jacobs led the Patriots in sacks allowed with nine.
The future: It’ll be interesting to see how many starters from last season end up starting in Week 1 next fall.
For Drake Maye’s sake, there needs to be wholesale changes with this group. The Patriots haven’t had stable tackle play since the 2021 season. That year, Patriots quarterbacks were sacked 28 times. That number has risen every season since – 41 (2022), 48 (2023), and 52 (2024).
The results are unacceptable and boil down to poor roster management. The Patriots free agent signings since 2022 have been Riley Reiff, Calvin Anderson, and Okorafor at tackle. They’ve drafted one tackle in the first three rounds in the last five years.
This offseason, it all needs to change. Eliot Wolf needs to nail free agency and/or the draft when it comes to rebuilding the Patriots offensive line. They need upgrades at left tackle and right tackle. It would also be nice to shore up left guard and center.
There are three primary targets at left guard in free agency – Ronnie Stanley, Cam Robinson, and Alaric Jackson. The Patriots need to land one. Another good option would be Baltimore’s Patrick Mekari. He played left guard and right tackle for Baltimore last season and would be an upgrade at either position.
LSU’s Will Campbell is the best available tackle in the draft. He could be in play at No. 4 – especially if the Patriots don’t land a big fish in free agency. Texas’ Kelvin Banks is the next best option.
The best guard available is Trey Smith. That would be a splash signing – although he plays right guard. The Patriots also need to figure out their center position. Will Andrews play next season? Is Strange’s future at center? The Patriots don’t have a capable center signed beyond this season. The Patriots could sign a veteran such as Drew Dalman or Ryan. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to draft a center, either.
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