A familiar name to anyone who bleeds green and blue just made a midweek stop in Foxborough. Greg Van Roten, a veteran offensive lineman who once rocked the Seahawks’ colors, was hosted by the New England Patriots on a visit Thursday morning, according to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson. This guy’s been a free agent since March, but don’t let that fool you for a second. He’s still out there battling at 36 years old, proving he’s a true ironman on the line.
The Unstoppable Drive of a Former Seahawk
Talk about longevity in the NFL! Van Roten has played in a staggering 144 professional games, with 105 starts on the interior offensive line, including an absolutely ridiculous streak of 51 consecutive starts. What’s that tell you about a guy? It screams reliability and pure grit. He spent the previous two seasons with the New York Giants, and get this, he finished both campaigns as the organization’s “ironman,” logging a career-high 1,150 offensive snaps in 2025 alone. That’s a monster workload. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Penn back in 2012, so he’s had to fight for everything, every single snap. And yeah, for those keeping score, he’s worn a lot of jerseys, including stints with the Green Bay Packers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders, and our very own Seattle Seahawks. He even had a detour with the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL. Primarily a right guard, this 6-foot-4, 295-pound former All-Ivy League offensive tackle has also piled up over 2,000 downs between left guard and center. That’s serious versatility, folks.
What This Veteran Visit Means for the Preseason Scramble
So, what’s going on in Foxborough that they’re bringing in a guy with this much mileage? The Patriots currently have a full 91-man roster, which is packed to the gills. Their interior offensive line room is already crowded heading into training camp, featuring names like Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu, Ben Brown, Andrew Rupcich, Mehki Butler, Caedan Wallace, and James Hudson. Plus, they’ve got undrafted rookies Jacob Rizy and JonDarius Morgan trying to make a name for themselves. Bringing in Van Roten signals they’re looking for that veteran leadership and experience to shore things up. Maybe they need a steady hand amidst all those younger guys, or maybe they just want to light a fire under the competition. Either way, Van Roten’s visit suggests he’s still got gas in the tank and could definitely push for a spot.
It’ll be interesting to see if Van Roten lands with the Patriots. Their preseason kicks off next Thursday night at Gillette Stadium, with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff against the Indianapolis Colts. For a guy like Greg, who’s been battling as an undrafted player for over a decade, every opportunity is huge. That kind of unwavering determination? You just can’t teach it.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pats Pulpit.
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