Injuries along their interior offensive line have prompted the New England Patriots to bring in some veteran help.
Greg Van Roten has agreed to terms with the Patriots, as first reported by Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston. The 36-year-old, who is a veteran of 12 NFL seasons and 105 career starts, was in town for a free agency workout earlier this month.
Van Roten arrives in New England off a two-year stint with the New York Giants. Lining up at both right guard and center, the 6-foot-4, 295-pound blocker
started a combined 34 games for the team over that span and amassed a total of 2,275 offensive snaps.
Overall, Foxborough will be the ninth stop in a pro career that originally began in 2012. An undrafted free agent out of Penn, he started out with the Green Bay Packers and later also spent time with the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Las Vegas Raiders. A two-year stint in the CFL is also part of his résumé.
Van Roten is now signing with the Patriots in the aftermath of two significant injuries along their backup interior offensive line.
Ben Brown, the nominal No. 4 behind the starting trio of Alijah Vera-Tucker, Jared Wilson and Mike Onwenu, suffered an injury in the preseason opener against Indianapolis that is expected to sideline him for multiple weeks. In addition, Andrew Rupcich, who appeared to be the next man up on the depth chart, was placed on injured reserve (even though his reported MCL sprain is not considered season-ending).
The Patriots use Jacob Rizy and Mehki Butler to replace the pair against the Colts. In addition, they currently also have James Hudson, JonDarius Morgan and recently-signed Darrian Dalcourt and Joe Michalski under contract at the center and guard positions.
New England will host the Philadelphia Eagles for two joint practices later this week before a preseason meeting on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 7 p.m. ET.
