Forgotten Patriots Rookie Returns To Increasingly Important Role

The Patriots received a large boost Monday, both figuratively and literally.

New England officially opened the practice window for rookie offensive lineman Caedan Wallace, allowing him to practice for the first time in over two months.

Wallace was placed on injured reserve due to an ankle injury suffered in Week 4 against the San Francisco 49ers. The Patriots were left scrambling in response — eventually settling on Vederian Lowe at left tackle and Demontrey Jacobs at right tackle — but the 24-year-old’s return could cause a shakeup as soon as Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Wallace doesn’t really care where he plays as long as he can provide some consistency.

“I’m excited to be back. It’s been a long recovery process,” Wallace said Monday, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “(I want to bring) consistency, (be a) solid guy at right tackle, left tackle, wherever it may be.”

Wallace’s role has been fluid since he first arrived at One Patriot Place, as the organization originally drafted him with hopes that he could make the change from right tackle to left tackle. New England now has to weigh where it needs him most, however, which certainly seems to be back on the right side.

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo essentially came out and admitted the rookie would receive playing time down the stretch, and all signs point to it coming on the right side.

Lowe and Jacobs have each had their fair share of struggles, but given what we’ve seen from the overall unit, there’s a much bigger need for stability on the right side. Mike Onwenu is already settled into that guard spot, so having Wallace entrench himself as the right tackle of the future would be paramount from a roster-building standpoint. New England would then widdle down its primary offseason needs to left tackle, left guard and center, with Cole Strange possibly being the answer to the latter two options.

Wallace’s emergence would be incredibly valuable to the overall unit. It’s just up to him to make that a reality.