LANDOVER, Md. -- The Patriots have an offensive line problem on their hands and two weeks to try to fix it.
Good luck.
After a rocky summer of stuffed runs, unblocked pass-rushers waltzing across the line of scrimmage and "sacks" where their quarterbacks were pressured but untouched in practice, the Patriots o-line had arguably its worst day of the summer during a 20-10 preseason finale loss on Sunday night.
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Starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett absorbed a sack that knocked him from the game with an injured throwing shoulder. It featured two linemen -- guards Sidy Sow and Layden Robinson -- bumping into each other as they tried to set up an apparent screen for tight end Jaheim Bell. Sow was unable to get to the edge to block, and Washington's KJ Henry drilled Brissett.
That wasn't the lone gaffe of the night for the New England line, though. Tackles were flagged four times for illegal formation, including three called on left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor. The starting line was twice called for holding and once for a false start.
Backup center Nick Leverett (starting Sunday with David Andrews resting) was in the middle of things on two fumbled snaps. Maye was stepped on by a lineman once and jostled on another play when one of his linemen was overpowered prior to a hand-off. Sow later had to leave the game with an ankle injury.
That all came in one half of football. Against Commanders backups. And now personnel chief Eliot Wolf, head coach Jerod Mayo, offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and offensive line coach Scott Peters have to try to figure out a solution.
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Try as they might, the reality is this unit won't be fixed in the next week or two. And there are myriad questions for them to answer if they are to acknowledge the problems that exist in the trenches:
Are they ready to play Drake Maye if Brissett gets hurt behind this line? Would Maye's health (not to mention confidence) take priority over putting the best player on the field at the game's most important position, and would the team opt not to play him -- even if Brissett is unavailable -- for fear of what might happen to him behind a shoddy line?
These are questions the Patriots would prefer not to have to answer at this juncture. But, to steal a line, it is what it is.
If the Patriots want to field a competent offensive product, no matter who's playing quarterback, they'll need to do something about the sizable issue that is their offensive line group.
Here's our final 53-man roster projection ahead of Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET cutdown deadline:
Quarterback (3): Jacoby Brissett, Drake Maye, Joe Milton
If Jacoby Brissett gets banged up, are the Patriots comfortable trotting Drake Maye onto the field? This is a question they'll have to consider, particularly after Brissett took a hard shot on his first drive Sunday night and left the game with a right shoulder injury.
If the answer to that question is, "No... especially behind an underperforming offensive line," then the team has to consider alternatives. Perhaps the Patriots would try to keep Bailey Zappe as a practice-squad addition if he passes through waivers, making him eligible to help the team as an early-season emergency call-up.
Running back (4): Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, Kevin Harris, JaMycal Hasty
Both Harris and Hasty showed their usefulness in the passing game on Sunday, and both bring very different skill sets to the table. Both, to me, seem worthy of a roster spot. (Though both, it could be argued, would have a good chance of being eligible to return on the practice squad if released.)
Wide receiver (6): Ja'Lynn Polk, DeMario Douglas, Javon Baker, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Reagor, Tyquan Thornton
This feels like it will be the group, barring a surprising decision by the team on Kayshon Boutte. The second-year wideout out of LSU hasn't had a bad summer, but he hasn't been able to work his way up the depth chart beyond Reagor, and he doesn't bring to the table the same level of special-teams abilities Reagor does.
Tight end (3): Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jaheim Bell
Pretty straightforward grouping here. Henry remains out, but he's nearing a return. Mitchell Wilcox looked like the team's No. 3 option here, but he's dealing with an injury and wasn't able to practice last week or play in the preseason finale.
Offensive line (9): Chukwuma Okorafor, Sidy Sow, David Andrews, Mike Onwenu, Vederian Lowe, Caedan Wallace, Layden Robinson, Nick Leverett, Michael Jordan
All hands on deck here. Unless and until there are some new and more capable hands available. This figures to be a position group where the Patriots are on the lookout for help via the waiver wire. At multiple positions. A backup center would help. As would some kind of tackle depth. Guard should be on the list, too, after Sidy Sow suffered an ankle injury that had him hobbled on Sunday.
Vederian Lowe remains here despite an injury that robbed him of most of this past week of practice as well as Sunday's game. Michael Jordan joins the eight from last week's projection as one of the team's top interior backups. With Layden Robinson potentially starting Week 1, keeping Jordan would make some sense.
Regardless, the Patriots need to keep trying to improve this spot. That goes without saying after a preseason finale when the line racked up four illegal formation penalties (three for Okorafor), two fumbled snaps, two holds, a false start and a sack that injured Jacoby Brissett.
Specialists (3): Joey Slye, Joe Cardona, Bryce Baringer
The competition at kicker has been handled during practices throughout the course of the summer, and Slye has in recent weeks pulled away from Chad Ryland. He's deserving of the nod here.
Defensive line (5): Deatrich Wise, Davon Godchaux, Daniel Ekuale, Jeremiah Pharms, Trysten Hill
This group may look a little light numbers-wise, but veteran free-agent signee Armon Watts has done very little to warrant a job. And while Trysten Hill has at times slipped up -- he had a personal foul penalty for an illegal block during Joe Giles-Harris' interception Sunday -- he does have the kind of explosion off the line along the interior that could help this unit.
Linebacker (9): Anfernee Jennings, Keion White, Oshane Ximines, Jahlani Tavai, Josh Uche, Ja'Whaun Bentley, Christian Elliss, Raekwon McMillan, Joe Giles-Harris
This is a massive group, but it includes both inside and outside 'backers. And they all look like legitimate NFL players.
Christian Elliss and Joe Giles-Haris both could be on the bubble, but both made nice plays in Washington on Sunday -- Giles-Harris had a pick and Elliss recorded a tackle for loss -- and would be expected to be core special-teams contributors. Raekwon McMillan's spot seems safe as he was one of the vets held out of Sunday's action by the coaching staff.
Cornerback (7): Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Marco Wilson, Alex Austin, Isaiah Bolden, Shaun Wade
Adding Shaun Wade here to last week's six. His versatility to play inside and out, and his understanding of the way the Patriots want to play in the secondary, gives him real value. Is it enough value to keep him here? It's been enough value to keep him in New England since 2021.
Because Patriots safety and slot corner roles are so interchangeable, and because the team is loaded with versatile options at those spots, keeping Wade could be the route Eliot Wolf goes, keeping seven corners total.
Rookie corner Marcellas Dial doesn't make the cut here, but he would be an easy option to bring back on the practice squad where he could further develop as a special-teamer and cover man.
Safety (4): Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Jaylinn Hawkins, Brenden Schooler
Tough call here to leave Dell Pettus and Josh Bledsoe off the initial 53-man roster. Would the Patriots go with Pettus over Wade? Bledsoe over Giles-Harris? Potentially.
Jerod Mayo recently spoke highly of Pettus in particular, noting how important it was to him to keep an undrafted rookie as a reminder to the rest of the team that it doesn't matter how you arrive to the Patriots as long as you perform. But both Pettus and Bledsoe would be candidates to return on the practice squad, giving the team a pair of young and aggressive safeties to play behind the regulars here.