Bill Belichick gives brief status update on Patriots O-linemen Tyrone Wheatley Jr., Vederian Lowe

With the Patriots facing questions along their offensive line, New England might be forced to turn to the two recent trade acquisitions.

The New England Patriots are heading into their Week 2 game against the Miami Dolphins with some major questions along the offensive line. Five members of the group were nursing injuries this week.

Tackle Trent Brown and guard/tackle Sidy Sow both remain in concussion protocol; guards Michael Onwenu and Cole Strange are still recovering from ankle and knee injuries, respectively; center David Andrews has been limited in practice with a hamstring issue. Add the fact that starting right tackle Calvin Anderson missed virtually all of the summer on the non-football injury list and you get a situation that can best be described as “not ideal.”

While it remains to be seen who will be available for the Sunday night matchup with the Dolphins, there is a realistic chance that the Patriots might have to shuffle the deck up front once again. If so, the depth options behind the nominal starting lineup — Brown-Strange-Andrews-Onwenu-Anderson — might be pushed into action again.

That group includes rookie Atonio Mafi, who started at left guard in place of Cole Strange last week as well as recent trade acquisitions Tyrone Wheatley Jr. and Vederian Lowe. On Friday, Bill Belichick gave a brief status update on those two.

“They’ve both been good. Glad we have them,” the Patriots’ head coach told reporters at Gillette Stadium. “Good to work with, and they’re getting better. So, it’s good. Glad we have them.”

Wheatley Jr. and Lowe both joined the Patriots ahead of this year’s roster cutdown deadline.

The Patriots acquired Wheatley Jr. via trade from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for sophomore running back Pierre Strong Jr. The former undrafted free agent spent time in Chicago, Las Vegas and Cleveland before arriving in New England, and last week made his NFL regular season debut.

“Works hard. Got a good skillset, works hard. Learning. Young player, developing player, but he’s getting better,” said Belichick about him.

Lowe, meanwhile, was acquired in exchange for a sixth-round selection in the 2024 draft. A sixth-round pick himself by the Minnesota Vikings last spring, he saw action in four games during his 2022 rookie campaign.

Both he and Wheatley Jr. bring some position flexibility to the table, and Belichick pointed out on Friday that they have experience playing both left and right tackle — a skill that might just come in handy with Trent Brown’s status for Sunday night in question. However, they also might be options to bolster the depth on the interior.

Wheatley Jr. in particular has played inside before. So, is he maybe a candidate to move to guard if a need arises? Possibly, but for now it appears the focus for both him and Lowe is on the tackle position.

“We’ll see, I don’t know,” said Belichick on Friday. “Playing tackle for right now.”

Sounds like we will have to see, indeed.