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Michael Onwenu

Patriots G Michael Onwenu Slow To Return After Ankle Surgery

May 21st, 2023 at 7:42pm CST by Ely Allen

Patriots starting right guard Michael Onwenu is hoping to avoid a continuation of the rollercoaster start to his career. As a reflection of that goal, following an offseason ankle surgery, Onwenu is not “expected to be on the field” for organized team activities, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.

As a rookie, Onwenu excelled as a sixth-man for the Patriots, starting games as a sixth, stacked lineman, a right tackle, and both guard positions depending on what the injuries to the team’s starters necessitated. He finished the year ranked as the league’s eighth-best offensive guard, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

In 2021, Onwenu was asked to shift and stay at left guard. Despite a PFF grade that ranked him as the league’s third-best offensive guard that year, Onwenu struggled on the field and was benched, with Ted Karras taking his place. He would finish out the season in his rookie-year role of sixth man.

Last year was widely viewed as a bounce-back season for Onwenu. He regained a starting role, now as a right guard with rookie Cole Strange filling the position on the left side of the line. Onwenu not only started every game of the season but, until very late in the season, was on track to play every single snap of New England’s season on offense. Not only was his durability on display but so too was his playing ability as he once again ranked among the league’s best as the fourth-ranked guard, according to PFF.

He fell short of 100 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in the fourth quarter of the Patriots’ final game of the regular season, when Bills defensive lineman DaQuan Jones landed on the back of his legs. Onwenu had already been playing through an ankle injury, and the added impact led to him missing the final six snaps of the season.

Missing OTAs isn’t the end of the world as the workouts are voluntary for players to begin with. It also sounds like he’ll still be in the building, he’s just not expected to be on the field, so that’s a positive, as well. We don’t yet have an idea of when Onwenu will be full-go on the field, but we can see that the Patriots are being cautious with his return.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/14/21

October 14th, 2021 at 3:55pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Patriots Move T Trent Brown To IR

October 9th, 2021 at 3:24pm CST by Sam Robinson

Trent Brown has not played since Week 1 due to a calf injury. The Patriots’ right tackle starter is now guaranteed to miss at least three more games; the team placed Brown on IR Saturday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Since his first stint with the Patriots ended, Brown has been unable to stay healthy. He did make the 2019 Pro Bowl, becoming the rare right tackle invitee that year, but played in just 11 games. Last year, a calf injury in Week 1 sidelined him before multiple stints on the Raiders’ reserve/COVID-19 list wrecked his season.

The Patriots reacquired Brown for a Day 3 pick but have not been able to deploy him much. As part of a redone contract, Brown is only signed through the end of this season. The 6-foot-8 blocker’s value has taken a major hit since the Raiders gave him a four-year, $66MM deal early in free agency two years ago.

In addition to Brown’s extended absence, the Patriots are set to be without three other offensive line starters against the Texans. Left tackle Isaiah Wynn and guards Shaq Mason and Michael Onwenu are out. Mason is injured but not on IR; Wynn and Onwenu are on the team’s coronavirus list. This will leave center David Andrews as New England’s lone first-string O-lineman available Sunday in Houston.

AFC East Notes: Davis, McCourty, Pats, Bills

May 31st, 2021 at 5:51pm CST by Sam Robinson

Corey Davis will be expected to play a critical role for the Jets this season, but he will need some time off first. The fifth-year wide receiver suffered a shoulder injury during Jets OTAs, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). Davis landed on his shoulder after attempting to make a leaping catch. This is believed to be a minor shoulder strain, though Garafolo adds that Dr. James Andrews examined the former top-five pick. Davis, who signed this year’s second-most lucrative wideout contract (three years, $37.5MM), is not expected to require surgery.

Here is the latest from the AFC East:

  • The Dolphins added Jason McCourty early this month. The veteran cornerback is expected to play a key depth role in Miami, and Brian Flores said (via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald) some work at safety is possible for the three-year Patriots corner starter. McCourty saw most of his snaps at corner in 2020 but did work as a safety on 75 plays. The Dolphins let Bobby McCain go this offseason but have ex-Pats corner Eric Rowe and second-rounder Jevon Holland at safety. As for McCourty’s compensation, Jackson adds the 33-year-old defender signed for the veteran minimum. His base salary is nearly fully guaranteed, with OverTheCap noting McCourty is locked into $987K of that $1.1MM figure.
  • Joe Thuney‘s departure for Kansas City will create a vacancy at New England’s left guard spot for the first time in many years. The Patriots‘ first-string left guard since 2016, Thuney has yet to miss a game during his career. The Pats, however, may have located a gem in 2020 sixth-round pick Michael Onwenu. The Michigan product started 16 games and played more on the edge than at guard as a rookie. But it looks like the Pats will shift Onwenu to a full-time guard role, with ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss noting he lined up as their first-string left guard in OTAs. The Pats traded for Trent Brown and are expected to use him at right tackle, Onwenu’s primary 2020 position. Pro Football Focus graded Onwenu as a top-10 tackle last season.
  • Brown and Isaiah Wynn are set to be the Pats’ starting tackles, and Reiss adds Justin Herron looks like the top candidate to be their swing backup. Drafted 13 spots ahead of Onwenu in last year’s sixth round, Herron started six games and played 351 snaps as a rookie. PFF graded Herron 56th overall at tackle in 2020. Considering Wynn’s injury history, the Pats’ swing-tackle role is a pivotal gig.
  • Long snappers have a rigid salary structure. Entering last week, a seven-way tie existed for the league’s highest paid deep snapper. But the Bills appear to have broken said tie. Buffalo made Reid Ferguson the highest-paid snap specialist, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets. Though it is not known how much more than the previous snapper-high figure ($1.2MM) the Bills are giving Ferguson, Pelissero adds that the fifth-year snapper will receive a $675K signing bonus.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/7/20

May 7th, 2020 at 6:40pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s late round signings here:

  • The Ravens inked third-round pick Tyre Phillips. With the Mississippi State offensive lineman under contract, the Ravens have now taken care of seven of their ten draft picks. Phillips played tackle in college, but he’ll likely move to the inside with Marshal Yanda retiring.
  • The Texans signed offensive tackle Charlie Heck, their fourth-round tackle.
  • The Patriots signed third-round linebacker Anfernee Jennings (Alabama), sixth-round guard Michael Onwenu (Michigan), and seventh-round center Dustin Woodard (Memphis), according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). Jennings wasn’t the most athletic rusher in this year’s class, but his hard-nosed playing style and technique made him a strong fit for Bill Belichick‘s defense. BB’s relationship with ‘Bama head coach Nick Saban likely helped to lead Jennings to New England. The Pats have also inked kicker Justin Rohrwasser, linebacker Cassh Maluia, and tackle Justin Herron (all of whom are Day 3 picks), leaving only three unsigned players in their ten-player draft class.
  • The Bills signed a trio of picks from the back of their draft, per a club announcement: sixth-round kicker Tyler Bass, sixth-round wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, and seventh-round cornerback Dane Jackson. Hodgins, out of Oregon State, managed 86 receptions for 1,171 yards and 13 touchdowns in his final year on campus.
  • The Dolphins inked a pair of fifth-round edge rushers in Curtis Weaver (Boise State) and Jason Strowbridge (UNC), as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald tweets. The bulk of their 11-man draft class still remains unsigned, so there’s more work to be done.