The Patriots’ offensive line took another hit before Thursday Night Football. New England placed left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker on injured reserve Thursday, Oct. 22, with a hamstring injury, Pro Football Talk reported, a move that keeps him out for at least four games.
Vera-Tucker, 27, strained the hamstring in Sunday’s win over the Jets and hadn’t practiced since, according to 98.5 The Sports Hub. He had already been ruled out for Thursday night’s game against the Bears, so the IR placement doesn’t change tonight’s plan. It does lock in a month without him.
Next men up at guard
Matt Pryor stepped in for Vera-Tucker against the Jets, and Walter Rouse came on after Ben Brown was injured. Both are expected to start at guard against Chicago, with Brown out again. Patriots On SI describes Pryor and Rouse as New England’s fifth and sixth options at the position, which tells you how thin this has gotten. Mike Onwenu and Greg Van Roten are already on injured reserve.
To add bodies, the Patriots elevated offensive lineman Xavier Newman-Johnson and linebacker Benton Whitley from the practice squad for the game, per the NFL.com daily roundup.
In case you forgot how he got here
Vera-Tucker is a former first-round pick who spent his first four seasons with the Jets before signing a three-year, $42 million deal with New England this spring. He’d been the Patriots’ starting left guard for a 4-2 team that has been winning through a long injury list. On SI counts him as the 22nd Patriot placed on a reserve list this year and the ninth projected starter to miss at least four weeks.
There’s a roster-math wrinkle, too. According to 98.5 The Sports Hub, the Patriots now have 11 players eligible to return from IR but only five return designations left, so Mike Vrabel’s staff will have to pick carefully once players start getting healthy.
Why it matters
McGraw Media’s read: this one stings more than a typical IR move because of where it lands. The Patriots are playing a winning team on a short week with backups at both guard spots. The thing is, New England has kept winning with this exact kind of patchwork, so there’s no sense in panic mode yet. What gets interesting is those five return spots. With 11 names waiting, the front office’s return decisions later this season could matter as much as anything Pryor and Rouse do in the meantime.
This story was drafted with AI assistance and fact-checked by McGraw Media.
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