The New England Patriots are already in a full-blown panic, and their interior offensive line is collapsing faster than a cheap tent in a gale. They just snatched up veteran Greg Van Roten, a guy who actually spent time with *our* Seahawks back in the day, all because injuries are absolutely wrecking their depth chart. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston first dropped the news that Van Roten has agreed to terms with the Patriots after a free agency workout earlier this month.
This Isn’t His First Rodeo, Or Even His Fifth
Look, the guy’s a veteran, no doubt about it. Van Roten is 36 years old and brings 12 NFL seasons and a whopping 105 career starts to the table. He’s coming off a two-year stint with the New York Giants where he started a combined 34 games, logging 2,275 offensive snaps while lining up at both right guard and center. This is Foxborough, his ninth stop in a pro career that kicked off back in 2012 as an undrafted free agent out of Penn. He started with the Green Bay Packers, and yep, he did spend some time with the Seattle Seahawks too, along with the Jaguars, Panthers, Jets, Bills, and Raiders. The man even has a two-year run in the CFL on his résumé. The Patriots are clearly banking on that experience to stabilize a shaky situation.
Foxborough’s OL Depth Chart Is a MASH Unit
So, why the urgent call-up? The Patriots are reeling from two significant injuries along their *backup* interior offensive line. Ben Brown, who was their nominal No. 4 behind the starting trio of Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson, and Mike Onwenu, got sidelined for multiple weeks with an injury suffered in the preseason opener against Indianapolis. And if that wasn’t enough, Andrew Rupcich, who looked like the next guy up, landed on injured reserve with an MCL sprain, though thankfully it’s not considered season-ending. They had to throw Jacob Rizy and Mehki Butler into the fire to replace those guys against the Colts. Currently, they also have James Hudson, JonDarius Morgan, and recently-signed Darrian Dalcourt and Joe Michalski on the roster for center and guard spots. It’s a crowded room, but clearly not a healthy one.
The Pats are limping into their joint practices with the Philadelphia Eagles later this week, with a preseason meeting against them set for Saturday, August 22, at 7 p.m. ET. They’ve gotta hope Van Roten can jump in quick and stop the bleeding because this is NOT how you want to kick off any kind of season, let alone one trying to build something new. Keep an eye on that OL, y’all, because it’s a mess.
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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