The New England Patriots are about to play their fourth game of the season on Sunday, and it will be their third starting a different player at right guard.
The ever-reliable Mike Onwenu entered the season locked into the starting role at the position, but suffered a fractured ankle in Week 2 versus Pittsburgh and will miss most if not all of 2026 as a result. His replacement, Greg Van Roten, lasted only one game: the veteran started last week’s loss in Jacksonville but departed the game in the second
quarter with a thigh injury.
With Van Roten since placed on injured reserve, the Patriots will now start right guard No. 3 against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Who will it be? For head coach Mike Vrabel, it comes down to two players.
“Walter [Rouse] and Ben [Brown] will work in there today and tomorrow, and we’ll kind of see where that goes for the week,” Vrabel explained on Wednesday.
Rouse entered the Jaguars game after Van Roten’s injury and ended up playing the final 41 offensive snaps in the Patriots’ 35-6 defeat. His debut with the team and at this particular position was a challenge for the late-August trade pickup.
And yet, the team decided to go with him over the more experienced Ben Brown. The latter backing up the left guard and center positions was the main reason for that, but with the change in circumstances could bring another change in lineup again.
Whatever that change will be, it won’t involve players from other positions. One speculated candidate to fill the now-vacant spot, starting left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, will not factor into the right guard mix according to Vrabel.
“The vision that I have for AVT and Will [Campbell], you’re starting to see a little bit of that,” the reigning NFL Coach of the Year said. “I want to continue that.”
