FOXBOROUGH, Mass — Throughout the first weeks of the 2026 NFL season, the New England Patriots have been plagued with numerous injuries to some of their top players. And in Sunday's win over the New York Jets, it was the offensive line that took the biggest hit, with even more injuries piling up.
The Patriots lost three linemen, as Morgan Moses went down with an ankle injury, followed by left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker with a hamstring injury. And finally, it was Ben Brown who suffered a knee injury, having to be helped off the field by trainers and unable to put much pressure on his leg.
This is already not an ideal situation, but what makes it even worse is that the Patriots now have a short week, taking on the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.
And while Vrabel wouldn't make any definitive statements, it seemed like he was implying the lineman might not be ready for such a quick turnaround.
"It's a short week. So whether they can make it back or not, I don't know," he told reporters. "They didn't finish the game. We'll have to see. But I don't know any other thing other than that. And we'll just have to figure out who we have available and find 48 to put out there. So it's just hard to say, but it's a short week. And if you don't finish the game, that's a quick turnaround."
So, if that's the case, the Patriots will be turning to rookie tackle Caleb Lomu, who stepped in for Will Campbell last week and then Moses this week, as well as guard Walter Rouse and Matt Pryor.
Pryor was the first guard to replace Vera-Tucker when he went down, with Brown moving to the left so Pryor could play on the right.
"Throughout my career, just being that sixth man. The guess is really what position, not if you're going to get in," Pryor said. "So just being up to date on the game plan, making sure I did my mental reps and being prepared to go in."
And then, when Brown went down, Rouse came on to take the spot next to Campbell.
"You have to prepare like you're going to be starting. And coach talked about it: the next man up mentality, and you just have to have that as you go through the week, week in and week out, and that's basically just what I did," Rouse explained. "Allowed me to go in and play today and finish out the game, and then do what we need to do to get the win... They're still going to expect you to go out there and play with the same level of the physicality and mentality just like as if you're a starter. So that's all I've been doing and I'm going to continue to do."
The last drive was a prime example of the offensive line living by the next man up mentality, as they were down three of their starting linemen, but still managed to rattle off a rushing drive that chewed up a lot of clock.
The run game was carried by running back Corey Kiner, with the offensive line providing him with plenty of room to run. Kiner finished the game with a team-high 57 rushing yards on 11 carries.
"Just watching that last drive, watching the whole game when someone goes down, next guy's up," Lomu told Patriots Wire. "We go out there and we're all playing together, playing for all, playing for the same thing: to go get a team win. So we're a very close group. We all work very hard during the week. And so, if one guy goes down, it's the next guy up. And everyone prepares like a starter. So when they get their chance, we're ready to go."
"Just trying to be consistent. Vrabel talks about it all week; we're going to get one. We're going to get one," Pryor added. "Just keep pushing. So that's what we did, just straightening through the blocks and being consistent with it."
That next man up mentality is one of the biggest themes of the team this season, and that idea of preparing like a starter has been repeated by each and every player on the roster this year, especially those who have had to step in due to injuries.
Rouse emphasized that their ability to step in at any moment and perform without missing a beat “speaks to our preparation.”
"It's the next man up mentality and you feel for them. You hope they get back and get better as soon as possible," he added. "But now you got to go out. Now we got to play and now we got to look towards Chicago and prepare for them."
Each of the linemen is ready for the challenge ahead.
"I take pride in my preparation, knowing the game plan," Pryor said. "Seasons are long, and anything can happen. So I'll be ready."
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Patriots' latest injury concerns put team's biggest motto to the test
