Latest update on Cole Strange adds clarity to Patriots’ offensive line approach for 2024

Injuries were an issue for New England Patriots guard Cole Strange in 2023. He missed the start of the season with a knee injury he suffered in camp. After being on-and-off the field over the first five weeks of the year the Patriots' 2022 first-round pick settled into his starting role for seven more games before suffering another, more significant knee injury that ended his season. Now, it looks like the impact of that injury will carry into 2024.

On Tuesday morning, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport shared that Strange, who turns 26 when training camp starts in July, is "expected to miss the start of the 2024 season and may be out until the middle of the season" as he continues to rehab from the injury. This comes after head coach Jerod Mayo described Strange's status as "month-to-month" ahead of Monday's OTA practice.

This sets up for Strange potentially not having to count against the Patriots' roster total initially. If he's not ready for training camp the team can place him on PUP, and then leave him on that list during roster cut downs rather than activating him and moving him to IR. In that case, he wouldn't be eligible to return until Week 5.

Strange's lengthy window to return shouldn't come as much surprise given the way the Patriots attacked the guard position this offseason. They signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers starter Nick Leverett and former Carolina Panthers starter Michael Jordan in free agency. In they draft, they used the 103rd overall pick on Layden Robinson, just a year after drafting three interior offensive linemen (Sidy Sow, Atonio Mafi, and Jake Andrews) in the top 150 picks.

Last season Sow was the most successful of the three rookies, spending most of the season at right guard after the team tried to develop him as a right tackle in training camp. He projected to return as a starter in 2024 even before Cole Strange's injury, but now could be switching sides. During Monday's OTA practice he lined up primarily on the left side, where he played mostly in college.

That would leave the right guard spot open for a competition. The projected group battling for that spot projects Leverett, Jordan, Robinson, Mafi, Andrews, and UDFA Charles Turner III. Third-round pick Caedan Wallace was projected as a potential tackle/guard versatile player coming out of college as well, but he's expected to compete for the starting left tackle job. If he doesn't win that, he could enter the picture at right guard.

This could also be a spot where the Patriots look to add a veteran in free agency, even just to provide competition in camp. Dalton Risner, who started 11 games for the Minnesota Vikings last year, projects as the top remaining available guard.

Justin Pugh is another name to know - he played for current Patriots offensive assistant Ben McAdoo with the New York Giants from 2014-2017. Pugh spent last year back with the Giants after five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Other top free agent guards include Mark Glowinski, Trai Turner, Pat Elflein, Phil Haynes, and Tyree Phillips.

In order to add a guard, the Patriots would need to make a corresponding move. The roster is currently full at 90 players.

Keep scrolling for more on Patriots OTAs...

On Monday the New England Patriots Phase 3 of their offseason program by holding their first OTA practice of the spring. There will be 10 OTA - organized team activity - practices over the next few weeks, leading up to mandatory minicamp in mid-June.

After rookie minicamp last week, this was the first chance to see the 2024 Patriots' roster (almost) in full. Monday's practice - and OTAs as a whole - will begin to set the stage for many of the position battles coming in training camp this summer.

An important caveat as we get into the takeaways from Monday's practice - this was one of 13 practices that will be held this spring, and one of four that will be open to the media. Nothing that happened on Monday should be viewed as concrete, but rather as a starting point for what lies ahead.

That being said, the big theme on Monday seemed to be the veterans getting involved. At positions where the Patriots invested draft picks - quarterback, wide receiver, offensive lineman, tight end, and cornerback it was the veterans getting reps early and often. The rookies were involved, but in lesser roles.

When asked about the quarterback rep distribution before practice on Monday, head coach Jerod Mayo said it's not indicative of the team's full plan for the position.

"No, that won’t be indicative of what we do. I think it’s a day-by-day thing," Mayo explained. "You know, you try to keep all those guys around the same rep count, but at the same time, in any given day, this guy could get 30 reps and another guy could get five. But then as we work through the week, it could kind of flip."

That's important to keep mind with only four practices open to the media. What we see won't be the full development process.

Beyond that, what stood out at Monday's Patriots OTA practice? Let's take a look, starting with the quarterbacks...

It's no secret that new Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt is a big believer in the importance of quarterback footwork. With Mayo saying last week Van Pelt will be the lead coach in rookie quarterback Drake Maye's development, it shouldn't be surprising that footwork is a focus early on.

For almost the first half of practice when the team was doing individual workouts, Van Pelt put all four Patriots quarterbacks through a variety of footwork drills. That included working on straight dropbacks, moving in the pocket, rollouts, and throwing on the run. Later in practice during team drills where were also periods that emphasized matching up footwork on under center handoffs and play action.

Watch the Patriots QB footwork drills here, here, here, here, and here. 

While he still has a way to go, Maye's footwork does look improved from where he was at while at UNC. Brissett also did a good job showcasing the natural pocket movement needed from a quarterback in Van Pelt's system.

Throughout the day it was Jacoby Brissett leading off drills for the quarterbacks, followed by Bailey Zappe then rookies Maye and Joe Milton. Brissett and Zappe saw the majority of work in team drills although Maye did mix in later, often with the other rookies. That could be a case of the coaching staff trying to get the first-year players caught up, especially in the context of Mayo's answer from Monday morning. We'll see how they divvy it up during the next open practice next week.

Coming into the spring left tackle is the biggest question for the Patriots' offense, in terms of who will be competing to play there. Monday offered the first glimpse into that battle.

Chuks Okorafor, who was mainly a right tackle during his first six NFL seasons, was the first one up during team drills. That should be expected, given Wolf told reporters prior to the draft he was the favorite to win the job.

Following Okorafor for most of the day was Vederian Lowe. After being acquired via trade during roster cuts last year Lowe played in 11 games for the Patriots and made eight starts, mostly at left tackle. It looks like the third-year pro will have a chance to compete for that job again this year.

Mixing in with Lowe was 2024 third-round pick Caedan Wallace. The Patriots said after drafting Wallace they hoped to develop him as a left tackle despite the fact he only played right in college, and started giving him reps on the left side on Monday.

It's way too early to judge the performance of any of the tackles - it's tough to get a real good look at linemen until the pads come on in the summer - but these seem to be the three leading candidates for the left tackle job.

At right tackle, Mike Onwneu unsurprisingly got most of the reps. Calvin Anderson saw some work over there as well.

It's tough to get the full picture of the Patriots' offensive line setup with Cole Strange missing practice as he works his way back from a knee injury. With him out, Sidy Sow saw the early reps at left guard.

Opposite Sow for most of the day was Nick Leverett, a free-agent signing who started 10 games over the last three years for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On the field, Leverett looks much bigger than the 6-foot-3, 310 pound frame his listed with. Rookie fourth-round pick Layden Robinson mixed in with Leverett, setting up what could be the battle for a starting guard spot opposite Sow with Strange out, or at least the top backup guard job.

2023 draft pick Atonio Mafi was busy as well. He repped at all three interior offensive line spots. That kind of versatility should help him try to win a roster spot.

As we touched on in our OTA/Minicamp preview Monday morning, there's going to be a major competition at wide receiver for the Patriots this year. DeMario Douglas, Kendrick Bourne, and rookies Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker seem like roster locks, creating a tight battle for the fifth and potentially sixth wide receiver spots between veterans like JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor, and K.J. Osborn.

Of that group, Smith-Schuster seemed to be the most involved on Monday. After practice he told reporters that he's physically feeling "100 percent" after dealing with a knee injury last year. According to him, he was never better than "60 percent" last year as he managed that injury.

The other three receivers in that group got work as well. Reagor's involvement was notable - his best case to earn a roster spot is probably primarily as a kick returner, but if he can offer the team true depth at wide receiver as well it would only help.

Meanwhile, Bourne did not take part in Monday's practice and isn't expected to be involved this spring according to Mayo. Bourne tore his ACL late last October. However, he did join the team on the field for most of today's practice - but not in uniform.

Most of the Patriots' absences on Monday were at the linebacker position - especially on the edge. The team was without Matthew Judon, Anfernee Jennings, Jahlani Tavai, and Josh Uche on Monday. That lack of depth created opportunities for other players that were in attendance.

Two big beneficiaries of those extended opportunities were 2023 second-round pick Keion White and free agent signing Oshane Ximines. With White, there are questions about if he'll be a defensive end or outside linebacker long-term at 6-foot-5, 285 pounds. On Monday he got a chance to experience playing standing up as an outside linebacker. Ximines is a true outside linebacker at 6-foot-4, 254 pounds and got an extended look on Monday.

Another thing we touched on in Monday's preview is the battle at the boundary cornerback spot behind Christian Gonzalez. Gonzalez did take part in some team drills on Monday but did appear to be a bit limited as he works his way back from a season-ending shoulder injury. Jonathan Jones was there as well and worked on the boundary a bit.

After those two, the top two players getting looks at boundary cornerback were Alex Austin and Marco Wilson. Both were heavily involved, which could signal they have a step up on the one or two jobs open at that spot once camp begins.

We've already touched on some players that weren't in attendance on Monday. The full list of absences is...

LB Matthew Judon
LB Anfernee Jennings
LB Jahlani Tavai
LB Josh Uche
DT Davon Godchaux
WR Kendrick Bourne*
OT Zuri Henry
G Cole Strange

*Bourne later joined the team on the field, but wasn't in uniform and didn't take part in any drills

"The attendance is great," Mayo said before practice. "A handful of guys that aren’t here. At the same time, those guys that aren’t here are true professionals and they know what they have to do to get back and be in shape and ready to go."

The Patriots will be back on the field on Tuesday for their second OTA practice. Their next practice that is open to the media is Wednesday, May 29.

Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.