Insight Finally Provided Into Patriots’ Puzzling Practice Decision

The Patriots haven’t lost their minds, after all.

New England caused quite the stir last week, as offensive lineman Mike Onwenu was seen practicing at left guard for the first time in three seasons. Why? We didn’t know at the time, with the majority of people assuming that it was just tinkering being done by a coaching staff with a propensity to tinker.

You know what they say, though. When you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.

The Patriots were just doing their due diligence.

“It was just more contingency,” Onwenu told A to Z Sports’ Sophie Weller on Wednesday. “MJ (Michael Jordan) was kind of hurt. Wednesday and Thursday, I was just practicing on the left and then by Friday, I was back on the right. I kind of had a day or two to just get back to my position and just know where I was going to be.”

Jordan ended up being fine to start on the left side, which was good news on multiple fronts. New England found some consistency and won their matchup with the Chicago Bears, and avoided making the poor guy play a position he very clearly doesn’t want to play.

“I definitely was,” Onwenu replied when asked if he was relieved, per Weller. “I didn’t prefer to play on the left.”

New England is expected to roll with the same combination — Vederian Lowe, Jordan, Ben Brown, Onwenu and Demontrey Jacobs — against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11.