The New England Patriots had offensive line depth on their mind Sunday.
The Patriots acquired offensive lineman Vederian Lowe in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings, head coach Bill Belichick confirmed Monday morning. NFL reporter Jordan Schultz was the first to report the deal Sunday night, while ESPN's Mike Reiss reported New England gave up a sixth-round pick to acquire Lowe.
The Vikings selected Lowe in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Illinois, where he was a four-year starter at left tackle and tied the school's record for career starts with 52. He appeared in four games for Minnesota as a tackle last season.
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Lowe's addition comes after New England dealt second-year running back Pierre Strong Jr. to the Cleveland Browns in return for another offensive lineman, Tyrone Wheatley Jr. As our Phil Perry explained Sunday night, the Patriots were in need of depth at the tackle position with Riley Reiff, Conor McDermott and Calvin Anderson all dealing with injuries.
The Patriots need to trim their roster to 53 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. The team announced Sunday night it had released the following players: DL Carl Davis Jr., LB Diego Fagot, DB Brad Hawkins Jr., TE Johnny Lumpkin, RB C.J. Marable, DB Quandre Mosely. DB Rodney Randle Jr., DL Justus Tavai, OL Micah Vanterpool, TE Scotty Washington and LB Carson Wells.