The Patriots offensive line is – along with the secondary – the strongest part of the team. But there’s work to do in order to ensure it stays that way.
First, let’s look at the upside of the line.
Isaiah Wynn is a capable left tackle and is under contract for 2021 (we’ll get into the specific downsides later). Joe Thuney is one of the league’s best left guards. David Andrews came back from missing all of 2019 and was his normal, stabilizing, highly-competent self dealing with some of the league’s toughest players. Shaq Mason is a top-tier guard. Michael Onwenu is a terrific late-draft find who played right tackle as a rookie and has the position versatility (as do many of the other starters) to be shuffled.
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Behind those starters last year were rookie Justin Herron, veterans James Ferentz and Jermaine Eluemunor and second-year player Yodny Cajuste. Marcus Cannon opted out in 2020 and plans to return as Devin McCourty told me a couple of weeks back and further reports have underscored.
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Now, here’s the work at hand. Andrews and Thuney are free agents as of March 17. Wynn has played 18 of a possible 48 regular season games. Cannon’s returning but has a $9.3M cap hit and he may not be able to wrest right tackle back from Onwenu.
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So what’s the team to do?
Start with Thuney. Franchised in 2020, he made $14.781M. If the Patriots want to keep him, that’s where the AAV of his deal (average annual value) probably has to be. Do they want to do that? (Insert Larry David “unsure” GIF).
Andrews is one of the top 10 centers in the league. The going rate for those is $10M in AAV. He wants to stay. Will the Patriots ante up?
Wynn, for as capable as he’s been when he’s played, would be going against his track record if he remained healthy. Wynn’s injuries in 2019 ushered in the Marshall Newhouse Experience. It was not good. Wynn’s injuries in 2020 put Eluemunor in the spotlight more often that he needed to be. The Patriots need to find a durable guy they can plop there and count on.
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Mason and Onwenu are fine where they are. If Thuney does sign elsewhere, Onwenu can also play guard. If that’s the case, Cannon can come back and return to right tackle.
So the Patriots need to make some potentially expensive calls at center, left guard and left tackle. They also need a little more competent depth than Cajuste, who’s been injured basically since he was selected in 2019. Herron is a nice piece that could project into a bigger role as well.
With the number of veteran players being tossed overboard by cash-strapped teams, there will be plenty of free agent options for the Patriots to make sure the OL stays a strong suit. They are in a good spot and will continue to be. But how they address the Thuney-Andrews-Wynn troika is going to be fascinating to watch play out.