Patriots starting offensive lineman likely out for Seahawks game

Cole Strange has been out since last December with a knee injury.

Earlier this week it was revealed that the Denver Broncos would be without linebacker Drew Sanders for their opening day trip to play the Seattle Seahawks. When Seattle heads to Foxboro to play the New England Patriots in Week 2, the Pats will almost certainly be without one of their starting offensive linemen.

Cole Strange, who suffered what was termed a “significant” knee injury last December against the Kansas City Chiefs, is not expected to be available for the early stages of the 2024 regular season.

Strange was a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, much to Sean McVay’s surprise, and has made 27 starts exclusively at left guard. That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily played well, but if you take any stock in PFF grading you’ll notice his improvements in run blocking but a dip in pass blocking from his first season to his second.

Here’s a little more info from Pats Pulpit:

When New England opened OTA’s on Monday, second-year guard Sidy Sow manned Strange’s usual place up front. Sow was impressive as a rookie last season at right guard and played left guard primarily in college.

The Patriots also added guards Nick Leverett and Michael Jordan this offseason, as well as drafted Layden Robinson in the fourth-round of the NFL Draft. With Sow moving over to the left side, Leverett worked as the top right guard with Robinson behind him.

New England’s offensive line was a disaster in pass protection last season and will seemingly need to figure out what they’ll do at left guard this year.