The New England Patriots' offensive line is a major concern heading into Sunday's regular-season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Even at full strength, the unit has been considered New England's biggest weakness heading into the 2024 campaign. Now, it enters Week 1 with injuries to left guard Sidy Sow and left tackle Vederian Lowe. Sow didn't participate in Thursday's practice due to an ankle issue while Lowe was limited with an abdomen injury.
Offseason addition Chukwuma Okorafor is expected to start at left tackle if Lowe sits out. But what if Sow also can't suit up? NBC Sports Boston's Patriots insider Phil Perry explained how the o-line could shape up in Cincinnati.
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"In all likelihood it means that Nick Leverett, who's been their backup center, moves to left guard," Perry said on Thursday's Early Edition. "And so it's Chuks Okorafor at left tackle, then Nick Leverett at left guard, (David) Andrews at center, Layden Robinson the rookie at right guard, and then Mike Onwenu at right tackle.
"It could mean, potentially, a more significant shift where you have Onwenu back into guard, and then Vederian Lowe is playing (left tackle) and Chuks Okorafor is all the way on the right side. But there's been so much movement, there's been so much shifting. Leverett, for instance, it's been months since he's played guard. He's played the majority of his NFL snaps to this point in his career at guard, so it's not new to him, but it's new in the last couple months. He's done nothing but play center. They've just had so much movement there that I think they want to try to limit that as much as possible, you do the 1-for-1 swap Leverett for Sow."
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To Marc Bertrand of 98.5 The Sports Hub, it doesn't matter which group takes the field for New England. Both situations are, as the Zolak and Bertrand host puts it, "a mess."
"I would like to have an opinion on which of the two options Phil just outlined is better, but I have no idea," Bertrand said. "I have no idea which one is better. We've watched Vederian Lowe, I don't think he's particularly good. Nick Leverett, that feels like a big unknown at guard. I don't know. Both situations are bad."
The Patriots offensive line is coming off a woeful preseason finale in which it was flagged for 10 penalties. The unit will have to clean things up to have any chance of upsetting the Bengals.
Kickoff for Sunday's Week 1 showdown is set for 1 p.m. ET.