Patriots First-Round Pick Could Be Surprise Cut

The New England Patriots added a lot of new bodies to their offensive line this offseason. They signed veteran right tackle Morgan Moses and drafted LSU's Will Campbell to be their new left tackle. They also brought in interior offensive linemen Garrett Bradbury and Wes Schweitzer.

This makes for a competitive room throughout the rest of the spring and the summer in training camp, which means at least one veteran could be on the outside looking in. Matt Holder of Bleacher Report predicts that former first-round pick Cole Strange could be the unlucky one in the rotation that is left without a roster spot.

"While Mike Vrabel said the 26-year-old was impressive at center on the small sample size last year, the new Pats head coach also said he will be competing with veteran free-agent signing Garrett Bradbury for the job this summer (h/t Taylor Kyles of CLNS Media)," Holder writes. "Even if Strange sticks at guard, he will have to fend off a couple of other offseason additions, free-agent pickup Wes Schweitzer and third-round pick Jared Wilson, in addition to Layden Robinson. That led NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry to list the former Moc as a potential surprise cut, and it's hard to argue with the logic."

Strange was a surprise first-round pick back in 2022 out of Chattanooga. He suffered a torn patellar tendon in 2023 that saw him out of action until November of 2024. And while his pass-blocking ranked among the top of NFL centers in 2024 (in limited playing time), he struggled in run blocking, finishing with a 48.6 PFF grade.

Considering all of the new bodies the Patriots have brought in, combined with a new regime of a coaching staff that isn't attached to the former first-round pick, it won't be a complete shock to see him on the outside looking in.

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