One overlooked move from this summer could end up bailing out the New England Patriots amid latest injury blow
The New England Patriots got some brutal news on Sunday — but things could have been much, much worse if not for an overlooked move this summer.
The New England Patriots have made it 2 for 2 in games played this season with a gut-punch injury to someone on the offensive side of the football. Last week saw new star receiver AJ Brown land on injured reserve. This time around? It’s long-time starter Michael Onwenu at right guard.
First and foremost, the news about offensive lineman Michael Onwenu suffering what is expected to be a season-ending injury just plain stinks. But things could be projecting much worse if it weren’t for an unassuming signing earlier this summer.
The New England Patriots should consider themselves lucky to fall into a reasonable backup plan to Michael Onwenu
The Patriots do have a reasonable contingency plan in Greg Van Roten. The 36-year old veteran brings a lot of playing experience to the table — nearly 7,000 career offensive snaps worth. He’s been a reasonably good starter at times, too. But as an older veteran, you do have to ask the question of whether he can reach those prior levels of play throughout the course of an entire season in 2026.
His status, plus the age of right tackle Morgan Moses (35) and the injury history of Aljiah Vera-Tucker leaves the Patriots flirting with depth issues up front. That’s not necessarily a death sentence, but it does raise the stakes for the rest of the unit. And it makes the team’s selection of Caleb Lomu early in the 2026 NFL Draft that much more vital, too.
New England must now hope that the rest of its offensive line does not suffer any extended absences the rest of the way. The margin for error has pushed towards razor thin, and any additional losses would start to tap into some concerning depth. Especially if Lomu isn’t ultimately ready to play. Hopefully, New England doesn’t have to find out one way or another.
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