With cut-down day looming, the Patriots’ offensive line has received quite a bit of attention. The group has struggled so far this summer, with four players starting in new positions. Even with those issues leading some to suggest the team needs to add up front, others have speculated the team could look to move on from one of the starters with Isaiah Wynn’s name coming up in trade rumors last week.

On Monday two key Patriots decision makers, head coach and general manager Bill Belichick and director of player personnel Matt Groh, both spoke to the media ahead of roster cuts. Both were asked about their confidence in the current configuration of the offensive line, and the tackle depth specifically.

“Not bad,” Belichick replied when asked about the position. “[There are] two players that are pretty established starters [Wynn and Trent Brown]. A few young players that have, I would say are continuing to get better that have had some playing time — Justin [Herron] more than Yodny [Cajuste] and Yasir [Durant]. But they’ve all played.”

“Everybody’s looking for good players right now. There’s not too many teams in the league that aren’t looking for tackles,” Groh said when asked  how hard it is to find starting-caliber tackles. “We feel very fortunate in the guys that we have. Looking across the league, we feel very fortunate and very confident in those guys going forward. It’s up to them to keep working here, and I think they’ve all taken a step under a lot of direction and a lot of hard work from everybody in the building, so we feel good about that.”

As Groh mentioned and as has previously been reported by PFF’s Doug Kyed, there is what is viewed as ‘offensive line scarcity’ throughout the league. That would seemingly make it less likely the Patriots would add at the tackle position during roster cuts. If anything, it would make more sense for them to trade a tackle away and capitalize on the seller’s market – but that of course comes with the risk of being thin at a crucial position with not many options to add.

The Patriots enter cut-down day with six tackles on their roster. Wynn and Brown are the starters, with Herron, Cajuste (who was not spotted at Monday’s practice), and Durant competing for the top backup role while William Sherman is a depth option. Guards Michael Onwenu and Arlington Hambright also bring some positional versatility that could bolster the team’s depth.

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 [email protected].