New England Patriots tackle Marcus Bryant left Saturday’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles with a left ankle injury and did not return.
The injury adds to an offensive line already thinned by Ben Brown’s absence, raising fresh questions about depth weeks before New England trims its roster to 53 players.
“Last week, the Patriots lost their top two backup interior offensive linemen Ben Brown (for the preseason) and Andrew Rupcich (for the season),” wrote MassLive Patriots correspondent Mark Daniels. “Five plays into this game and Marcus Bryant suffers an injury. He’s been one of their top backup tackles this summer with (Caleb) Lomu.”
Marcus Bryant’s Ankle Injury Leaves Status Unclear
Bryant stayed down on the Gillette Stadium turf after a play early in the game Saturday night, prompting head coach Mike Vrabel to walk over as trainers examined him. He eventually got up but barely put weight on his left leg as staff helped him toward the sideline.
He walked gingerly to the medical tent before heading to the locker room. The Patriots confirmed shortly after that Bryant was out for the rest of the game with an ankle injury. No word on severity, including whether it’s a high ankle sprain or something more serious, had surfaced publicly by roughly 7:50 p.m. ET.
“The 2025 seventh-round pick is competing with Caleb Lomu for the swing tackle job. His injury is the latest in the offensive line for the Patriots,” reported Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.
Sixth-round rookie Dametrious Crownover replaced Bryant at right tackle.
New England Offensive Line Depth Faces New Test
Bryant isn’t part of New England’s projected starting five. That group still runs left tackle Will Campbell, left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, center Jared Wilson, right guard Mike Onwenu and right tackle Morgan Moses. But the 2025 seventh-round pick out of Missouri has spent camp carving out a role as the team’s top developmental swing tackle behind Moses, mixing in left tackle reps behind Campbell.
That versatility mattered earlier this month, when Campbell worked through an arm injury and Bryant took first-team left tackle reps in his place, according to Patriots On SI.
“Just being able to step up and compete, you know, and being able to step in for my brother means a lot,” Bryant said afterward, as quoted by SI.com
Bryant appeared in 12 games as a rookie, logging 19 offensive snaps plus special-teams work, and has spent the summer fighting Crownover, Caleb Lomu and James Hudson for a roster spot. His absence now compounds a depth crunch that started when Brown went down in the preseason opener against the Indianapolis Colts and was ruled out for multiple weeks. Lomu, New England’s first-round rookie, has taken on a larger developmental workload at tackle this summer, but the Patriots would prefer not to lean on two rookies at once if Bryant’s absence stretches beyond Saturday.
New England’s line draws heightened scrutiny after last season’s turnaround. The unit ranked near the bottom of the league in pass-blocking efficiency in 2024 before climbing to roughly sixth in 2025, a jump built largely on Campbell’s arrival and steadier line combinations, according to Pro Football Focus‘s Zoltán Buday. That progress unraveled some in the postseason, when Seattle’s pass rush battered quarterback Drake Maye during New England’s Super Bowl LX loss.
Marcus Bryant Injury Update: Patriots Offensive Lineman Exits Eagles Game