The Patriots made a pair of trades on Sunday and they were both designed to address one area on the team.
Tackles Tyrone Wheatley Jr. and Vederian Lowe are joining the team in moves that underscore the difficulty that the Patriots have had finding a right tackle heading into the regular season. It was a trouble spot last year as well and head coach Bill Belichick was asked on WEEI on Monday about criticism that the team has not done enough to address the position this offseason.
“We signed Riley Reiff, we drafted three players on the offensive line. I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Belichick said, via Dakota Randall of NESN.
None of the players were drafted before the fourth round and none have extensive experience at tackle. The Patriots also re-signed Conor McDermott and signed Calvin Anderson, but Anderson has been out with an illness since the spring and neither McDermott nor Reiff locked down the job.
Those developments contributed to Sunday’s trades and the identity of the starter remains an open question with less than two weeks to go before the opener.
