Patriots starting guard expected to miss beginning of 2024 season

Cole Strange's second season with the Patriots ended abruptly in December. A knee injury that forced him to end the campaign on injured reserve is threatening to keep him sidelined into the fall.

New England’s starting left guard is expected to miss the beginning of the 2024 campaign, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. He adds that Strange could be unavailable until the middle of the coming season, which would deal a considerable blow to the team’s offensive front. The 2022 first-rounder has started all 27 of his appearances to date.

“He’s more of a, let’s say, week-by-week or you can go month-by-month if you want to,” head coach Jerod Mayo said when speaking about Strange’s health status (via Rapoport). “But he is working hard, he is doing his rehab. Here every day. He is in the meeting room, so I am happy where he is.”

Eyebrows were raised when the Patriots selected Strange on Day 1, as many expected him to be a mid-round prospect. His rookie season produced a PFF grade of only 54.6, which ranked 61st amongst qualifying guards. The UT-Chattanooga product took a step forward in his 10-game follow-up season, though. Strange earned a 64.6 mark, slotting him 26th at his position.

The Patriots — a team set to use free agent addition Chukwuma Okorafor on the blindside after he previously worked at right tackle during his Steelers tenure — will have a notably different left side of the line if Strange is unable to start the season. As Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald notes, 2023 fourth-rounder Sidy Sow took first-team left guard reps when the team’s OTAs began Monday. The 25-year-old Canadian logged 13 starts as a rookie, all of which came at right guard. He would thus represent one of the top options to replace Strange this fall if he is unable to suit up.