Ben

Brown

Brown recently moved to left guard to fill that hole in the Pats’ lineup. He’s now out for Week 10 and Walter Rouse, his backup, is in the league’s concussion protocol. New England could be severely undermanned in the trenches for their matchup versus Detroit.

The Patriots will also be without RG Ben Brown (knee). The Bears’ defense is not an elite unit, but losing two starting guards is rough. Backups Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse will start instead. The Patriots listed RT Morgan Moses (foot) as questionable.

Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse stepped in for the two guards towards the end of last week’s offensive line apocalypse and would likely be in line to start in Week 7. Neither Vera-Tucker nor Brown practiced on Monday or Tuesday.

It’s an inconceivable development, as the Pats already lost LG Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring) and RT Morgan Moses (ankle) earlier on Sunday. Brown’s injury appeared to be very, very serious. Walter Rouse, the Pats’ last healthy reserve OL, will finish the game in Brown’s place.

Henderson did not practice at any point this week and should be considered questionable heading into Week 2’s games. Rhamondre Stevenson will get the bulk of the load against Seattle and should factor into the RB2 equation despite a tough matchup on paper. The Patriots also ruled out Ben Brown (knee), who did not travel with the team to Seattle.

The UDFA center will be a rotational cog along the middle of the Patriots line, probably mostly as a backup, for the two years to come. Brown has started just two games this year, but had a 10-game stretch as a starter in 2024. He qualifies as competent depth.

Peppers is out after being listed questionable for Week 17 due to a hamstring injury. Fellow safety Kyle Dugger (ankle/quad) is active. Center Ben Brown (concussion) will also miss Week 17 while Joe Milton serves as the Patriots’ emergency third quarterback.

Brown (6’5/310) was a four-year starter in the SEC after a redshirt year, bouncing between guard and center. His 2021 season was cleaved in half with a torn left biceps tendon, an injury that prevented him from testing during the pre-draft process. He’s a broadly-built interior player with strong hands and a stout base. Bull-rushers are stymied when he drops a heavy anchor. Brown is limited athletically, struggling to hit moving targets in the second level. He’s also given issues by the counter moves of quick-twitch defensive tackles. Because of this, Brown is a better fit for a gap-running system than a zone-blocking team. If everything breaks right, Brown could have a career similar to Dan Feeney.