Injuries scar OL heading to OTAs
FOXBORO — If Dante Scarnecchia had it his way, the Patriots offensive line would be set sooner than later, but there are significant factors at play that will delay the process.
For one, the line is dealing with injuries. First-round pick Isaiah Wynn and new addition Trent Brown are recovering from shoulder injuries, while Joe Thuney is undergoing foot surgery and Marcus Cannon is coming back from an ankle injury that ended his 2017 season early.
All four will likely be out as the Patriots begin OTAs and minicamp over the next month, Scaranecchia said, and it will be some time before the longtime offensive line coach can see his line at full strength.
The other factor remains the biggest challenge for Scarnecchia. That’s how the team plans on replacing left tackle Nate Solder, who left in free agency to sign with the Giants. His loss certainly upsets the continuity of the line, especially at his position where he’d been a rock since 2012.
“It’s a big challenge, because you get in a real big comfort zone with him, and especially the way Nate played over the last half of the season,” Scarnecchia said. “He’s been given this opportunity and he’s taking advantage of it for he and his family, so now the next thing is we gotta replace him. So, we have guys that we’re hoping will be able to step in there.”
Scarnecchia said both Wynn and Brown will get the chance at left tackle in training camp.
Wynn, drafted No. 23 overall, has the versatility to play guard and tackle. As a senior, he was a second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC as he started all 15 games at Georgia, including the national championship, at left tackle.
“He was a really good player in the best conference in America at his position, and he played left tackle and he’s played guard, so that’s what I like about him,” Scarnecchia said. “Smart, he’s tough as they come, played the whole year with a bad shoulder. He’s got great traits. We look for three traits: Smart, tough and athletic enough to play the position. He’s got all three, so we’ll see if that translates to this level.”
Brown played mostly at right tackle in his career, but has experience on the left. He’s listed at 355 pounds, but Scarnecchia referred to him at 380 and said he’ll be the biggest lineman he’s ever coached.
Scarnecchia likes what he’s seen so far from Brown, acquired from San Francisco for a thirdround pick in last month’s draft.
“He’s attentive, wants to know what we’re doing, kind of a quiet guy, but that’s all right,” Scarnecchia said. “He’s listening to what’s going on around him, can answer a lot of questions, so we just have to see how that works. Unfortunately we won’t be able to see it until we get to training camp, with he and Isaiah.”
Scarnecchia expects the interior of the line to stay the same, with Thuney at left guard, David Andrews at center and Shaq Mason at right guard. He wants to keep Cannon at right tackle.
Antonio Garcia, a 2017 thirdround pick, was expected to be in the mix at left tackle, but he was released yesterday, according to a ESPN report. So with Wynn, Brown, Thuney and Cannon out for OTAs and minicamp, it’ll give players like LaAdrian Waddle, Ulrick John and Cole Croston a chance to compete and show what they have.
And Scarnecchia made it clear that he likes this group.
“I really like the guys we have here right now. That’s the good news,” Scarnecchia said. “The bad news is we can’t work with some of them until training camp starts because we have two guys with shoulders, got a guy with a bad foot and on and on and on. But that’s the hand we’ve been dealt, OK? When training camp comes around, they’re all going to be out there and I’m really excited about working with these guys. I want to make that really clear to everybody. We got the guys we got, and I’m happy with it.
“I don’t know what it’s gonna look like, but I’m really happy with it, because I like the way they work, I like the people, I think they’re going to do everything we ask them to do and that’s all I care about. And then we’ll see what we can do from there, so we’ll find out.”