The New England Patriots will be without both of their starting guards on Thursday against the Chicago Bears, but they have already decided on who will replace them.
As head coach Mike Vrabel announced on Wednesday, Walter Rouse and Matt Pryor will fill the two vacant spots in the lineup.
“We have a lot of consideration. We go through things, different scenarios,” Vrabel explained during a press conference at Gillette Stadium. “We’re going to go with where we finished on Sunday and see what that looks
like, and then have everybody else ready to go.”
Rouse and Pryor started Sunday’s game against the New York Jets on the bench, but were forced into action due to the injuries suffered higher up on the depth chart.
Pryor was first up, entering at right guard in the second quarter after Alijah Vera-Tucker left with a hamstring injury. With Ben Brown sliding over to Vera-Tucker’s spot, the 31-year-old took the field for his first offensive snaps since arriving in Foxborough. He finished the game with 46 snaps.
Rouse entered the mix in the fourth quarter, after Brown went out with a knee injury. He played the final 14 offensive snaps of the day. The 25-year-old had previously played extended snaps albeit at right guard during the Patriots’ Week 3 loss in Jacksonville; in that game, Rouse was the backup at that particular position and called upon after Greg Van Roten — himself an injury replacement for regular starter Mike Onwenu — was lost to injury.
Now, the two will be part of the starting lineup against the Bears. The group will also consist of left tackle Will Campbell and center Jared Wilson. Right tackle Morgan Moses is officially questionable because of a foot injury, with first-round rookie Caleb Lomu a candidate to enter the lineup if need be.
Earlier this week, Mike Vrabel said that the Patriots need Lomu to be “ready to go at multiple positions” versus the Bears.
Kickoff between the two teams is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET on Thursday.
