Between the start of NFL free agency in mid-March and the end of the compensatory window right after late April’s draft, the New England Patriots brought 14 outside players aboard. Only 13 of those remain on the active roster.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Patriots announced that they have placed veteran offensive lineman Wes Schweitzer on the reserve/retired list. Schweitzer had originally joined the team on a one-year, $1.555 million contract.
Let’s assess what the move means for the team.
Left guard picture clears up
Even though he had not played a single in-game snap at left guard since the 2020 season, the Patriots inserted Schweitzer right into the mix at the position upon bringing him aboard. He remained prominently featured up until his minicamp absence, with former first-round draft pick Cole Strange the only other candidate to see regular reps with the starters.
Strange, who spent his first two years at LG before a brief move to center in 2024, looked like the frontrunner for much of the process. With no live contact during the offseason, however, Schweitzer still appeared to be in the running for the eventual starting job.
The race is not over yet, but with him off the team now all signs point in a clear direction: the left guard role will be Cole Strange’s to lose this summer.
Interior O-line depth takes a hit
Schweitzer removing himself from the equation does not just impact the top of the interior offensive line depth chart, but the entire group. At the moment, 10 players remain at the guard and center positions, as a look at our regularly-updated Patriots roster shows:
Interior offensive line (10): Cole Strange (69 | LG), Garrett Bradbury (65 | C), Michael Onwenu (71 | RG), Tyrese Robinson (55), Jared Wilson (58), Sidy Sow (62), Layden Robinson (63), Ben Brown (77), Jack Conley (74), Mehki Butler (63)
As noted above, Cole Strange looks like the starting left guard at the moment, joining center Garrett Bradbury and right guard Michael Onwenu. All three look like safe bets to make the roster at the moment, but the depth behind them is unclear.
Jared Wilson will make the team due to his status as a third-round draft pick, with Tyrese Robinson — who missed mandatory minicamp for undisclosed reasons — also seeing plenty of action this offseason. Sidy Sow recently received reps at right guard, too, while the rest of the group, including 2024 part-time starters Layden Robinson and Ben Brown, has been comparatively quiet.
Open roster spot
Schweitzer’s departure creates an open spot on the Patriots’ 90-man offseason roster, and it remains to be seen how it will be filled. Two names to keep an eye on are guard Marcus Wehr and linebacker Wesley Steiner, who both were in town for tryouts on Monday.
As a look at New England’s roster shows, the team does have 90 players signed even with Schweitzer removed. However, defensive lineman Wilfried Pene is roster exempt due to his status as an international player. As a result, the Patriots are allowed to carry 91 players in the offseason.
Minor salary cap relief
From a salary cap perspective, Schweitzer’s removal from the active roster will have only a minor impact. While his $150,000 signing bonus and $65,000 workout bonus will remain on the Patriots’ books as dead cap, the rest of his deal — a $1.255 million base salary plus $85,000 in roster bonuses — is coming off.
The resulting cap relief totaling $1.28 million will be partially offset by another player taking Schweitzer’s spot on the Top 51 list. The difference between the cap savings and that player’s cap number — $1.03 million belonging to running back Trayveon Williams — is how much cap space New England has saved by the move: $250,000.
Addition to the short-stint club
Schweitzer is not the first veteran player joining the Patriots as a free agent only to retire shortly thereafter. In fact, there have been several such cases through the years including fellow offensive linemen Robert Gallery (2012) and Jared Veldheer (2019) as well as wide receivers Reggie Wayne (2015), Andrew Hawkins (2017) and Eric Decker (2018).
The 31-year-old joining that club was not necessarily expected to happen when he signed with the Patriots back in March. However, his relatively limited guarantees show that the team was prepared for him not making the roster for whatever reason.