Last season, the New England Patriots struggled with one of the NFL’s weakest offensive line units. Matters worsened when former first-round pick Cole Stange suffered a season-ending knee injury in December. Now, the severity of Stange’s injury has been clarified: he’s dealing with a torn patellar tendon, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, who experienced the same injury during his playing days with the team in 2014, recently provided an update on Stange’s recovery, describing it as a month-to-month process. Mayo, although he returned for the following season after his injury, noticeably faced challenges with reduced speed and found himself playing behind Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins before retiring at the end of the year.
Comparatively, Kansas City Chiefs starting offensive tackle Lucas Niang encountered a similar injury in Week 17 of 2021 and didn’t return until Week 11 of 2022. Every recovery is unique, but if Stange’s rehabilitation timeline mirrors Niang’s, he might not be back in action until Week 9 of the upcoming season.
This potential timeline sheds light on the Patriots’ strategic move to target Layden Robinson in the draft. With uncertainty surrounding Stange’s availability for the start of the season, Robinson’s selection appears aimed at bolstering the offensive line depth and potentially filling the starting role until Stange is ready to return later in the year.
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