Patriots Continue 'Challenging' Offseason Goal With Recent Free Agent Workout

The New England Patriots spoke at length about how important it was to add tackles this offseason. They drafted both Caleb Lomu (Utah) and Dametrious Crownover (Texas A&M) in April's NFL Draft, and executives Eliot Wolf and Ryan Cowden answered questions about the need of depth at the position.

But just because the team's offseason schedule has wrapped up for a brief summer break doesn't mean the work surrounding the offensive tackle spot is over. In fact, the Patriots continue to double down on what they preached earlier in the year.

According to James Larsen of UFL Newsroom, the Patriots hosted offensive tackle Gottlieb Ayedze to a workout. The All-UFL lineman with the Houston Gamblers started 10 games at right tackle and allowed just two sacks. Prior to that, he had short stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and Las Vegas Raiders after spending his college career at both Frostburg State and Maryland.

The 26-year-old Ayedze helped the Gamblers rush for 128.3 yards per game this past season, and the offensive line allowed the third-fewest tackles for loss in the UFL.

Ayedze Would Become Another Piece Of The OL Puzzle

Now with a workout in New England, it continues to show that the team's efforts to get better at the offensive tackle position remain. Currently, along with Lomu and Crownover, the Patriots have Morgan Moses, Will Campbell, James Hudson, Marcus Bryant, Sebastian Gutierrez and Lorenz Metz on the roster.

Mar 3, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Maryland offensive lineman Gottlieb Ayedze (OL04) during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Patriots drafted both Campbell and Bryant a year ago, and it's clear that the team is putting an emphasis on bringing in as many tackles as possible. While they don't currently have a roster spot for Ayedze if they were to sign him, it would show that the Patriots remain willing to do whatever it takes to protect their franchise quarterback.

Part of that includes trying to get as many cracks as possible when it comes to bringing in offensive tackles.

"It Is A Premium Position In Our League"

"(It's) very challenging. I would say most of my career, you always think you're going to have enough once the training camp or preseason hits, and you don't," the executive vice president of player personnel Wolf said. "So, having obviously Caleb, but having the opportunity to draft a guy with the experience of Dametrious Crownover at that point in the draft was pretty important to us."

Now, it's not guaranteed that the Patriots would even sign Ayedze to a contract ahead of training camp, it wouldn't be surprising. Ahead of last season, the team signed Yasir Durant after he had a successful season with the UFL's D.C. Defenders. What's not to say that the Patriots don't dip back into that pool of players?

"It is a premium position in our league, the pool of players that can play the position is relatively small and you can never have enough depth I think there," the vice president of player personnel Cowden also said. The emphasis we want to talk about or that we do talk about in protecting the quarterback, it starts up front. We've talked about that – I think a year ago we talked about a little bit of an inside-out mentality.

"When we see talent at the tackle position, I think we're always going to look to add that."

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns, and so much more!

Add us as a preferred source on Google