Patriots offensive line still not settled for season opener at Bengals

The New England Patriots offensive line was not fully settled going into Sunday's season-opening matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Amid injuries at multiple spots, the team has been forced to shuffle the group that they stuck with for multiple weeks during training camp and the preseason. Despite that, at least three positions on the Patriots offensive line do appear determined ahead of the Cincinnati game.

Center David Andrews is a full go, as the team's persistent snapping issues ought to disappear with the 10-year veteran and team captain handling the ball. At right guard, rookie Layden Robinson has ascended to an immediate starting role after an impressive summer and an opportunity that opened up due to injury. Cornerstone Mike Onwenu, who reportedly signed his lucrative extension in the first place to be the Patriots' long-term right tackle, is now in fact lining up at right tackle.

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The left side of the Patriots offensive line, however, is the area where the Patriots were still employing some form of competition and determining the pieces that best fit for the collective group, as recently as Friday in Foxboro. Head coach Jerod Mayo also noted the importance of "conditioning" in Sunday's game, alluding to the possibility of rotations or substitutions being needed at some point along the line.

"I mean, that's under consideration," Mayo said Friday, on the possibility that the starting line won't necessarily play the whole game. "Everyone has their own level of conditioning. So, if someone's tired, then we'll get them out."

Based on media availability at this week's practices, Chukwuma Okorafor is projected to start at left tackle on Sunday, despite the recent return of Vederian Lowe, who was the starter at that spot prior to an abdomen injury that's held him out of recent practices and the preseason finale. Lowe, whose progress Mayo described as "encouraging," is listed as questionable and appears on track to be available as an emergency backup.

Left guard Sidy Sow is out for Sunday with an ankle injury, after spending the entire summer as the expected starter. That leaves Nick Leverett and Michael Jordan as the top candidates to replace him.

Leverett only played center for the Patriots during the preseason, but he does have experience at left guard. However, that was back in 2022 with the Buccaneers, when he played 11 games (10 starts) and all but one snap at LG (he played one snap at right guard).

Jordan, meanwhile, has played 55 career games, 29 of them starts. But he last played in an NFL game in Week 18 of the 2022 season, when he played 53 snaps at left guard for the Carolina Panthers. Jordan is currently on the Patriots' practice squad, so he would need to be elevated to the main roster in order to play against the Bengals on Sunday.

The Patriots offensive line is getting a significant challenge out of the gate against the Bengals, particularly at the tackle positions. Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson is coming off his third straight Pro-Bowl season, in which he logged 17.5 sacks, tied for second-most at his position in the league. He's likely to match up against the Pats' left tackle, but there could also be tight end help involved.

Talent aside, the biggest overall concern with the Patriots offensive line is a lack of cohesion. A line can potentially make up for a lack of high-end talent by playing well as a unit. It will be hard for this group to do that with a relative lack of experience together.

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Injuries have certainly played a role in that lack of full-line reps, but this is the reality of the Patriots' situation. Talent, depth, and health have all become real issues, and they're going to have to work everything out in real games. At this point, the top concern is whether they can keep their quarterbacks upright and healthy.

That could be a tall order in Cincinnati.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.

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