The Patriots are signing 36-year-old Greg Van Roten to shore up their interior offensive line. It's a reasonable move—the kind of low-cost, zero-risk addition that makes sense when injuries pile up. But let's be clear: this is triage, not a solution.
Van Roten has been around the block. He's logged time in multiple systems and understands how to play the position. At 36, he's not going to blow anyone away with athleticism, but he can hold his own in pass protection and execute a scheme with minimal ramp-up time. Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf are essentially saying, "We need bodies in the room right now," and Van Roten fits that bill. You can plug him in at guard, and he knows what he's doing.
The real issue? This speaks to depth concerns the Patriots haven't solved yet. Ben Brown, Mike Onwenu, and Alijah Vera-Tucker give you some established pieces on the interior, but when injuries start mounting—and they will—you're desperate enough to call a 36-year-old. That's not a strength; that's a vulnerability that could haunt them if the wrong guy goes down at the wrong time. You'd rather not need this signing in September.
Vrabel's regime has been methodical about roster construction, and this move checks a box: veteran minimum salary, proven technique, immediate availability. It's smart organizational thinking. But it also confirms what we suspected—the interior line depth chart has some real questions that experience alone can't answer. Van Roten is insurance. Good insurance, sure. But you're still hoping you don't need to use it.
The Patriots have the talent to compete. They just need their guys healthy and on the field.
Based on reporting from Pats Pulpit.