New England Patriots Sign Offensive Lineman To Extension

Are the New England Patriots still resting and having fun? Of course not. The Super Bowl champions did not forget what brought them this high in the NFL. That’s why they started building their offseason roster. The 2019 campaign is right around the corner, and the Patriots are super busy signing extensions. An offensive lineman’s extension was the first on their list.

New England signed reserve offensive lineman Brian Schwenke to a one-year contract extension worth $895,000. The information was first confirmed by ESPN’s Field Yates. The Patriots played Schwenke in three games last season, but he is actually a depth piece to the o-line.

The Tennessee Titans drafted Schwenke in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Cal. Schwenke played four seasons with the team. He stopped in Indianapolis, but decided to return to Tennessee. In the 2017 season, Schwenke was active in all 16 regular season games and started two of them.

New England could really use his versatility as Schwenke can be used as center and guard. His five-year experience in the league is also a nice detail. Adding Schwenke to Ted Karras will sure boost the depth in New England’s offensive line right behind center David Andrews, left guard Joe Thuney and right guard Shaq Mason.

Schwenke’s extension is the first move

This extension is just a small move New England made in the offseason. They will have to make a few big decisions in the next few weeks. Will they retain left tackle Trent Brown? During his first campaign with the Patriots in 2018, Brown became a nice fit for the position of Nate Solder.

The o-line was successful this year as quarterback Tom Brady was sacked just once in the playoffs.

The only concern about Brown is the Patriots’ willingness to pay him after spending a lot of money to get tackle Isaiah Wynn last year. The tackle had problems with his Achilles, so the Patriots have to think twice before dropping this decision.