Wynn latest loss on line
Starting left tackle heads back to IR
Offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia has his hands full as his line continues to be a revolving door.
Yesterday, the Patriots placed starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn on injured reserve. Reinforcements arrived in the way of Caleb Benenoch, a veteran of three NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Wynn left Sunday’s game at Miami with what was described as a foot injury. According to a source, Wynn has turf toe, which can be a difficult injury to navigate, especially for an offensive lineman who has to plant on his feet. Wynn, who played well when he was in the lineup, can return Week 11. It’s his second straight year on IR, as he missed all of last season with an Achilles injury.
Benenoch is 6-foot-5, 305 pounds and capable of playing both tackle and guard. Last season, he started all 16 games at right guard for the Bucs. He was released on Sept. 11 after playing in a reserve role Week 1 against San Francisco.
Marshall Newhouse, who was signed by the Pats last week, started Sunday’s game at right tackle in place of the injured Marcus Cannon .Newhouse then flipped to left tackle when Wynn departed. Reserve tackle Korey Cunningham moved to the right side.
The Patriots already have also been operating with Ted Karras starting at center in place of David Andrews, who is done for the season with clots in his lungs.
Asked about all the moving parts on the offensive line, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the team was doing its best to adjust to the circumstances.
“I think they’re trying to do the best they can . . . there’s some moving parts there,” Belichick said. “Some of them anticipated or had a chance to plan for, some happened rather quickly and you have to react to those.
“But yeah, that group is a hardworking group. They’ve communicated well together and the guys with more experience helping some of the guys with less experience, but overall we’ve just tried to take it day-by-day and do the things that we can do. We can’t do everything but we can do the things that we feel confident in, that we’re able to practice and prepare for and hopefully we can do a good job of those as we’re starting to expand overall with that group.”
Of the seven offensive linemen now on the roster, four have been with the team less than a month, and two less than a week.
Who’s next?
The “next man up” principle applies to the opposition, as well.
Belichick made that a point of emphasis as he talked about Sunday’s game against the Jets.
The struggling Jets have hemorrhaged quarterbacks in the first two weeks of the season. Starter Sam Darnold was diagnosed with mononucleosis last week and could miss four games. Darnold’s backup, Trevor Siemian, suffered a horrific ankle injury when he was sacked by Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett in the second quarter of Monday night’s 23-3 home loss to the Browns.
Luke Falk, who was activated from the Jets’ practice squad last week, could be under center in Foxboro. You can be sure Belichick will have a dossier on him and any potential free agents New York signs.
“This is a situation that comes up every week and we have to know all the players that are on our opponents’ roster including really, the practice squad players,” said Belichick.
The Jones factor
Belichick said he expanded the role of safety Jonathan Jones in the first two games. Jones had two solo tackles and one assist with two passes defended in in the opener against the Steelers. He came back with two solo tackles, two assists and one pass defense against the Dolphins.
“Jon has really worked hard since he’s been with us,” Belichick said. “He started off primarily in a special teams role and that expanded to situational things on defense to really our nickel corner and safety.
“He has continued to expand his role for us defensively which has given us more flexibility and provides more opportunities to get him on the field. He’s a smart kid, works hard, has good instincts and has a good understanding of our defense which allows us to do a lot of different things.”