Editor’s Note: With NFL free agency in full swing, our Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran is resetting each Patriots position by assessing their 2025 performance, laying out their 2026 contract statuses, and ranking their offseason priority on a scale of 1 to 5 when it comes to potential upgrades.
We’ve already hit on quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs and tight ends. Today’s installment: offensive line.
Four-fifths of the Patriots’ offensive line was new to the team last year. And — relative to expectations — they performed damn well.
Grizzled veteran Morgan Moses was imported from the Jets to play right tackle, center Garrett Bradbury took over in the middle and rookies Jared Wilson and fourth-overall pick Will Campbell played side-by-side on the left side.
The end result? An MVP runner-up performance from quarterback Drake Maye, a total of 2,191 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on the ground and a Super Bowl appearance.
Remember, this was the WORST OFFENSIVE LINE IN FOOTBALL for about three years running. Just heinous.
So, massive improvement.
All good? No, not totally “all good.” You watched the playoffs and saw that Maye was under consistent duress, and it eventually caught up to him in the Super Bowl when he played with a skittishness he hadn’t shown all season. Twenty-one sacks in four games will do that to a guy.
If the Patriots don’t want to look back on 2025 as an outlier year when everything came beautifully together, they need to bolster their offensive line. They made their first move before free agency started, sending Bradbury to the Bears. They made their biggest move this week when they signed the outstanding but oft-injured Alijah Vera-Tucker to play left guard.
They’ll need to address the advanced age of Moses; the conditioning of right guard Mike Onwenu; how suited Wilson is to replacing Bradbury; and whether they’re DAMN sure that Campbell’s postseason dropoff was wholly related to youth and an injured knee as opposed to size and strength issues he’ll always have to overcome.
Bright spots
Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Eric Canha-Imagn Images Will Campbell struggled in his first postseason action.
Campbell was not the problem so many feared, finishing the year with an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 72.6 (32nd out of 89 tackles). He was 23rd as a pass blocker and 39th as a run blocker.
He got lit up in the playoffs, no doubt. But his MCL injury may have been a season-ender if the Patriots weren’t contenders. So he came back and played less-than-his- best.
Wilson showed he can be a starting NFL lineman, but given his PFF pass-block grade (42.8), whether that’s as a guard or a center is still pending. The signing of Vera-Tucker is an indicator Wilson is bound for the middle.
Let’s also mention a guy who will be important all season: Ben Brown. He started four games in place of Wilson last season. He’ll be the backup at center, too. He’s just a very competent safety net for the Patriots.
Moses, at 34, played all 17 games and was really good most of the time. His 76.2 PFF overall grade ranked 24th among 86 qualifying offensive tackles, and his 79.5 PFF run-blocking grade placed 18th at the position.
Onwenu bounced back from a mediocre 2024 (career-low 65.2 PFF overall grade) with a 76.8 mark in 2025. And his 78.9 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked fourth among all guards.
Disappointments
Will Campbell talked with reporters about his Super Bowl performance, his knee injury and why he didn’t speak to the media after the game.
When there’s that much improvement, it’s hard to say there are disappointments without the caveat-ing. So let’s get a blanket caveat out of the way with a general, “ATTABOY!”
Now, Campbell got manhandled in the postseason. He needs to get stronger in the upper body and anchor better. (Again, his injury probably didn’t help.) I truly think he will. Having Vera-Tucker next to him — if the guy stays healthy — is a huge boon.
Wilson, same thing. He needs to get stronger. There were also times when teams exploited Wilson and Campbell with complexity. They are both very smart players, but they got got a few times.
The rest was self-evident in the playoffs. Moses is 34. He’s going to get danced around at times. Onwenu isn’t the most nimble getting out in space.
Contract statuses
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports Alijah Vera-Tucker could be a huge boost to the interior of the offensive line if healthy.
Onwenu has a $16 million base salary and a $25 million cap hit. He’s 29. This is the last year of his deal. It will be telling to see if they lengthen the deal or let him get to free agency in a year.
Moses has two years left on his deal. His cap number is $10.4 million with a base of $6.5 million.
Vera-Tucker is signed through 2029. He’s got $4.25 million tied up in per-game roster bonuses each of his three years here.
Campbell is on his rookie deal, of course, and has a $9.9 million cap number. Wilson’s is $1.4 million. The Patriots are middle-of-the-pack in OL spending, per OverTheCap.
Offseason priority (1 to 5 scale)
This remains a 4. High priority.
With the free agent departure of Vederian Lowe, they need tackle depth (aside from young Marcus Bryant, who certainly has the frame at 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds). They need another Ben Brown-level interior line/do-it-all-depth piece. And they need the post-Morgan Moses answer at right tackle.
The priority is less about acquisitions and more about making sure Campbell plays like a top-tier (not “elite” yet) left tackle and Wilson grips the center position.
