The New England Patriots had a tough decision to make when tackle Trent Brown returned from injured reserve.
He retook his spot at right tackle, which dislodged Michael Onwenu from the spot where he’d been starting. Onwenu has also spent a great deal of time at left guard, so it made some sense the Patriots might slot him into that spot, moving Ted Karras back to the bench. Another option would have included keeping Onwenu at right tackle, trying Brown at left tackle and moving Isaiah Wynn to the bench. There were all sorts of options to consider. But New England went a surprising route. They benched Onwenu, inserting Brown at right tackle and leaving Karras at left guard.
Belichick was asked about that decision after Week 10.
“We have a lot of good players there and it was good to get Trent [Brown] back and we’ll see how things go going forward. It was good to have Trent back out there,” Belichick said postgame on Nov. 14.
In Week 11, the lineup was the same, with Onwenu playing the role as the sixth offensive lineman, working only when the team used an offensive lineman to play tight end in jumbo formations. The strange part about all this is that Onewneu was playing well at right tackle and is the highest-graded Patriot on Pro Football Focus, a digital scouting service.
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Highest graded #Patriots this season (min. 25% snaps)
1️⃣ Michael Onwenu: 88.7
2️⃣ Mac Jones: 86.9
3️⃣ Damien Harris: 85.5
4️⃣ Shaq Mason: 84.3
5️⃣ Adrian Phillips: 82.9 pic.twitter.com/vXIvQOBWZw— PFF NE Patriots (@PFF_Patriots) November 22, 2021
It appears, however, that the Patriots weren’t pleased with Onwenu’s performance at left guard. They appeared to bench him for a pair of holding penalties against the Buccaneers in October. That left him as the backup at both guard and tackle. Belichick was asked about Karras’ performance this season.
“Ted was pretty consistent for us and still is. I think that’s one of the great things about Ted Karras,” Belichick said last week. “You get pretty much the same person, the same player, the same level of communication, aggressiveness, play, every single day. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday. Whatever it is we’re doing, you’re going to get Ted’s best.”
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