The New England Patriots’ offensive line depth has taken another hit. One week after losing right guard Mike Onwenu, his replacement in the starting lineup has been placed on injured reserve as well: Greg Van Roten will miss at least the next four games due to the thigh injury he sustained during Sunday’s blowout loss in Jacksonville.
Let’s assess what the move means for the Patriots and their offensive line.
More turnover at right guard
The Patriots entered the 2026 regular season with the ever-reliable Mike Onwenu as their starting
right guard, but he suffered a broken ankle during the team’s Week 2 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. This bumped Van Roten — a training camp signing — into the top spot between center Jared Wilson and right tackle Morgan Moses.
Van Roten, who had played every single offensive snap for the New York Giants in 2024 and 2025, lasted only 64 snaps as Onwenu’s replacement. This forced the Patriots to move third-stringer Walter Rouse, himself a trade acquisition in late August, into the top lineup versus Jacksonville.
The results were as expected: Rouse, who had not played even a single regular season right guard snap before Sunday, struggled. With Van Roten now out, however, there is a scenario that he again sees extensive snaps this coming week versus the Buffalo Bills.
Whether the team starts him or veteran Ben Brown, the situation is anything but ideal. Losing not one but two starting right guards in back-to-back weeks is a blow to an offense already running on fumes.
Two realistic replacement options
Between the 53-man roster and practice squad, the Patriots have six interior offensive linemen available at the moment. Beyond the aforementioned Ben Brown and Walter Rouse, they also have two on the practice squad:
53-man roster (4): Alijah Vera-Tucker (75 | LG), Jared Wilson (55 | C), Ben Brown (77), Walter Rouse (72)
Practice squad (2): Jake Kubas (63), Xavier Newman-Johnson (64)
IR (2): Mike Onwenu (71), Greg Van Roten (70)
Theoretically, the Patriots could also use rookie Caleb Lomu to bolster their depth inside; the first-round draft pick did see some guard snaps in practice over the summer. However, his main focus has been at offensive tackle, and with RT Morgan Moses nursing an injury it seems unlikely the team will move him insight until its hand is truly forced.
Realistically, this leaves Brown and Rouse as the replacement candidates for Van Roten (and by extension Onwenu). While the latter filled that role versus the Jaguars, it would not be a surprise if the former was the pick against the Bills in Week 4: Brown, who missed time earlier this year due to an ankle injury suffered in preseason, started the summer as the No. 4 interior offensive lineman and possesses a level of experience in the system that the third-year man Rouse simply does not have.
Two open spots
The Patriots did not announce any follow-up moves to placing Van Roten on IR. This means that as of Tuesday afternoon, they are down to 51 players on their active roster; they still have not filled the spot created when rookie outside linebacker Quintayvious Hutchins was sent to injured reserve last week.
New England does have some candidates to take those spots, either from the practice squad or its current injury lists. Five players, after all, are set to become eligible to return from their respective injury lists after Week 4: OT Marcus Bryant, ED Harold Landry, LB Khalil Jacobs, S Brenden Schooler, and P Bryce Baringer. The team keeping the spots open until then and trying to use practice squad promotions to bolster the game day team against Buffalo on Sunday is not entirely unreasonable.
17th player on IR
The Patriots were relatively healthy during their 2025 Super Bowl season, but this year so far has been a challenge. Going back to the offseason, they have now placed 17 different players on injured reserve. Out of those, 11 remain on the list as of today (i.e. have not been let go with a settlement):
IR (11): RB Myles Montgomery (39 | season-ending), WR A.J. Brown (1), WR Jeremiah Webb (29 | season-ending), TE Julian Hill (80 | season-ending), OT Marcus Bryant (52), RG Mike Onwenu (71), OL Greg Van Roten (70), ED Quintayvious Hutchins (45), LB Khalil Jacobs (59), S Dell Pettus (24), P Bryce Baringer (17)
The most prominent names on the list are starting receiver A.J. Brown, who is eligible to come back in two weeks, as well as the aforementioned Mike Onwenu. Punter Bryce Baringer can be reactivated after Week 4, while third safety Dell Pettus can come back after Week 6.
