FOXBORO — It’s been impossible to fully assess the quality of the Patriots’ offensive line through nearly two weeks of training camp simply because most of the starters aren’t able to be on the field.
It’s created a situation in practice where starting quarterback Mac Jones is having trouble getting rid of the ball quickly enough without there being pressure in his face from the stout Patriots pass rush.
Left tackle Trent Brown has been limited through most of training camp. On Monday, he laughed off the idea that his practice status is tied to a contract dispute and said he’s dealing with an injury.
“Definitely frustrating from a personal standpoint,” Brown said. “That’s all I can speak on. I’m doing everything I can to get back on the field.”
Left guard Cole Strange has been held out of practice since last Monday after suffering an apparent leg injury during training camp. Center David Andrews missed practice Sunday but was back on the field Monday. Right guard Mike Onwenu has been on the physically unable to perform list since the beginning of training camp. Swing tackle Calvin Anderson remains on the non-football illness list since the beginning of training camp. Backup guard Bill Murray was also out of practice Monday, leaving the team to mine the depths of their roster for depth.
In recent practices, that’s left the Patriots with Riley Reiff at left tackle, rookie Atonio Mafi at left guard, Andrews at center, Kody Russey at right guard and Conor McDermott at right tackle.
“Stuff happens,” backup quarterback Bailey Zappe said. “Injuries happen. Sickness happens. So, just have to go out there and play ball.”
Jones is still backing his boys up front, however.
“Oh, I think the offensive line has been great,” Jones said. “I think right now there’s some injuries and stuff, but those guys are doing a great job trying to fight to keep the pocket clean. It all starts with those guys. I feel like they’ve made a lot of progress.
“Coach (Adrian) Klemm and Coach Billy (Yates) have done a great job just kind of explaining everything to them. Obviously, David does a great job leading. We have a lot of veterans, but we also have a lot of young guys who haven’t played as much. It’s just good to see them come together. You never know when there’s going to be an injury in game, and you’ve just got to make it work. The five who are in there have to work together and I feel like they’re doing a great job. I feel like back there in practice, they’re doing good. And a game is a game. We’ve got to see what everyone is made of there.”
In an ideal situation, Brown would be at left tackle, Strange would be at left guard, Andrews would be at center, Onwenu would be at right guard and either Reiff, Anderson or McDermott would be at right tackle. Backup veteran James Ferentz handled most of the snapping duties Sunday when Andrews was out.
Jones was happy to see Andrews back on Monday.
“Yeah, I love David,” Jones said. “I think David, he’s just the ideal Patriot and if he could have been here, he would have. He’s an awesome guy and definitely a team leader and one of my great friends. He just practices hard every day. It doesn’t matter he’s in there with the ones, twos, threes, he doesn’t care. He’s just going to work.”
Brown said he’s “absolutely” hopeful he’ll play Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles in a little over a month. He’s spent most of training camp on a lower practice field working on conditioning. He stayed up on the main practice field in pads Monday but didn’t participate in competitive drills. It appeared to be a step in the right direction.
The timelines for Strange, Onwenu and Anderson are less clear. The more time that Brown, Onwenu, Strange and Anderson are out, the less time that allows the unit to jell together. It also continues to make the right tackle situation cloudy while Reiff and McDermott are thrust into action on opposite sides of the line.
