FOXBORO, Mass. — There is a ton of uncertainty at the bottom of the depth chart among the Patriots' offensive linemen. Left guard Logan Mankins is likely sitting somewhere with a smile on his face, knowing he has put the Pats in a difficult position as they struggle to move forward without him.
With teams set to cut their rosters to 53 players by Saturday, let's take a closer look at the linemen who sit on the Patriots' roster bubble.
Earlier this week, NESN.com listed 39 players who are already locked into a roster spot.
Who's in
Matt Light, Dan Connolly, Dan Koppen, Stephen Neal, Sebastian Vollmer, Ryan Wendell, Mark LeVoir (If Quinn Ojinnaka makes the team, he won't count against the 53-man roster during Week 1 due to his league suspension. Therefore, it's a good bet that he makes it past this week.)
Who's out
None
Bubble Watch
Ted Larsen, George Bussey, Rich Ohrnberger, Thomas Welch, Eric Ghiaciuc
Bubble Analysis
The second unit has had a pretty poor camp, so it's tough to distinguish which backups are higher on the pecking order. Obviously, Mankins' holdout and Nick Kaczur's injury have vaulted other players into more significant roles, and that has really hurt the quality of New England's depth on the offensive line.
Wild Card
Essentially, the entire second unit is one big wild card. Further than that, though, it's unclear whether or not Kaczur will start the year on the active list, the PUP list or injured reserve, and that directly affects how many linemen the Patriots will keep. Also, if the Patriots keep Ojinnaka, they'll have to release someone in Week 2 (maybe even Ojinnaka himself), so the chips will continue to fall based on how the cuts at this position play out.
