On Sunday, the first group of players reported to the New England Patriots’ training camp: rookies and veterans coming off an injury arrived at Gillette Stadium to undergo medical testing, and to either be cleared to participate in camp or to be placed on one of the reserve lists. All in all, six Patriots were moved to the physically unable to perform list with a seventh being placed on the non-football injury list.
One notable player not on the two lists was offensive tackle Isaiah Wynn. This shows that the second-year man passed his physical examination and will be on the field when New England holds its first training camp practice on Thursday — it will mark his first time back on the field in meaningful capacity in almost a year: Wynn tore his Achilles tendon during last year’s preseason and was subsequently placed on season-ending injured reserve.
This is certainly good news for the 23rd overall selection of the 2018 draft and the team that picked him: Wynn enters training camp as the frontrunner to earn a left tackle spot that was vacated when Trent Brown left New England in free agency. And while starting left guard Joe Thuney filled in during offseason workouts and mandatory minicamp, the job will be handed to Wynn as soon as he can get back onto the field.
With yesterday’s announcement about the players who open camp on one of the injury lists, it appears as if the time for that has come. As a result, the Patriots’ top offensive line is expected to consistent of Wynn and Thuney at left tackle and guard, respectively, with David Andrews, Shaq Mason and Marcus Cannon filling the three remaining starting spots. On paper, this is a pretty solid group — but Wynn’s development will be a deciding factor when it comes to its overall success in 2019.