The New England Patriots offensive line during Thursday night's preseason opener versus the Houston Texans -- a group that mostly consisted of backups -- gave a lackluster performance.
It certainly wasn't an encouraging sign for the Patriots, especially given the o-line's struggles over the first few weeks of training camp. If any of the starting offensive linemen miss games with injuries this season, it's unlikely many of these backups would step in and play at a high level.
So it wasn't much of a surprise to learn that New England brought in two free agent offensive linemen for tryouts Friday.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
More Patriots coverage
ESPN's Mike Reiss reported that Chim Okorafor (Benedictine) and Trevor Reid (Louisville) were in Foxboro. Both players were recently released by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Trent Brown is the expected starter at left tackle, although he's been a limited participant in camp because of an injury. Riley Reiff should be a solid option at tackle but that's far from a certainty. Conor McDermott has the ability to be a serviceable right tackle, but as we saw Thursday, he also has the potential to really struggle.
The Patriots would be wise to bolster their depth at the offensive tackle position, so it wouldn't hurt to give Okorafor and/or Reid a chance to impress. Reid, in particular, is an intriguing option. He played well in college at Louisville and is a good athlete.