The Patriots entered the 2025 season coming off a year in which it was widely accepted that the team put out the worst offensive line in the NFL. There was a focus this offseason on improving the situation and, indeed, the Patriots came back with only one returning starter on hand, right guard Mike Onwenu.
In the first three weeks of the season, the team has managed to keep the same five linemen intact, with No. 4 overall draft pick Will Campbell at left tackle, third-round pick Jared Wilson at left guard, Garrett Bradbury at center and Morgan Moses at right tackle.
But this week, the team held out Wilson from practice with a new injury, listed as an ankle/knee injury. Wilson had been playing better after a rough first game, so the team would miss him in his absence. The Patriots also lost some depth on the line this week with practice-squadder Thayer Munford signed by Cleveland, and so a move was made to add former Packers and Buccaneers guard Royce Newman to the mix.
Royce Newman to the Patriots Practice Squad
Newman will start with the practice squad, the Patriots announced. Tight end Gee Scott Jr. was also added to the practice squad.
Per the team’s release, the 28-year-old Newman, “is a veteran of four NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers (2021-23) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2024). The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder, originally entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick by Green Bay in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Mississippi. He was released by Green Bay at the end of training camp in 2024 and was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay, where he spent the season.”
Newman had been with the Cardinals in training camp but was among the 53-man roster cuts in August.
Ben Brown the Likely Starter if Wilson Is Injured
If the Patriots do not have Wilson on Sunday in Week 4 against the Panthers, they will likely turn to Ben Brown, who was a candidate for the guard spot in training camp this summer. Wilson won out, but Brown showed he can play both the center and guard spots, and do so capably.
Brown is in his third NFL season, and his second with the Patriots. He started 10 games at center last year and rated a relatively uninspiring 52.8 grade at Pro Football Focus, which was 39th out of 40 NFL centers. He comes with experience, though, and likely will be better playing for a line that has been better a unit this season.
GettyBen Brown #77 of the New England Patriots
Patriots Line on the Upswing
The line has done a very good job of protecting Drake Maye, and rates a 69.3 pass-blocking grade as a team from Pro Football Focus, which is ninth in the NFL. Their run blocking is suspect, though, at 48.0. That’s 30th.
But PFF ranks the Patriots’ offensive line 17th in the league, up from dead last in the NFL last year.
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