Coming off a second consecutive 4-13 season, the New England Patriots clearly have problems to fix all over the field. But a special area of focus for new head coach Mike Vrabel has been the offensive line. The need to fix the Patriot’s pass protection was so acute that the team took offensive left tackle Will Campbell with their first round pick.
But Vrabel’s offensive line rebuilding project suffered a setback on Tuesday, when a key free agent signing who was tabbed as a potential starter suddenly decided to retire.
Campbell’s selection was only the only the sixth time the Patriots used a first-round pick on an offensive lineman since Robert Kraft bought the New England franchise in 1994, and at No. 4 overall, the pick was the highest the Patriots had used on an offensive lineman since taking guard John Hannah, also with the fourth pick, in 1973.
Hannah went on to a Hall of Fame career, spending all 13 of his NFL seasons with the Patriots.
Patriots Offensive Line Was Worst in NFL Last Year
In addition to drafting Campbell, the Patriots also signed free agents Morgan Moses, an offensive right tackle, and center Garrett Bradbury in an attempt to upgrade the offensive line play, which ranked 31st in pass blocking win rate and 32nd in the run blocking category last year.
Keeping sophomore quarterback Drake Maye, last year’s No. 3 overall draft pick, safe and with adequate time to throw downfield was one especially high priority. Maye suffered 34 sacks in just 12 starts last season — including one in Week 18 when he played only the opening sequence of the game.
Those 34 came after veteran Jacoby Brissett, who started the first five games of the 2024 season, took 18 sacks.
Another move directed at reinforcing the offensive line came in March when the Patriots signed free agent Wes Schweitzer, an eight-year veteran who came into the league out of San Jose State as sixth-round Atlanta Falcons draft pick in 2016, to a one-year, $1.55 million contract.
During OTA practices, Schweitzer shared most of the starting unit reps at left guard with 2022 first-round draft pick Cole Strange. The two were seen as waging a tight competition for the starting spot at the crucial position.
Newly Signed Guard Wes Schweitzer Hangs Up Pads
But the 31-year-old who spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets did not show up at mandatory minicamp this week. On Tuesday, the reason for his absence became clear when the Patriots announced that Schweitzer had been placed on the reserve/retired list.
Schweitzer played in 90 games for the Jets, Falcons and Washington Commanders, making 62 starts divided between the guard and center positions.
Schweitzer as of Wednesday afternoon had not issued any statement on his reasons for apparently retiring. Neither had the Patriots. But he appeared in only 17 games over the last three seasons due to various injuries.
According to Patriots ESPN.com reporter Mike Reiss, Schweitzer’s retirement appears to hand the starting left guard job to Strange. But Vrabel said that no final decision would be made until the Patriots hold training camp, which starts in late July.
“We’ll have to make a lot of those decisions and determinations once we get to training camp and there’s pads and start stacking some days together, Vrabel said this week. “I don’t know if we get a full evaluation without shoulder pads on as an offensive lineman.”
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