The past few seasons have been tumultuous injury-wise for New England Patriots right tackle Sebastian Vollmer, and that notion remains unchanged heading into the 2016 campaign.
Vollmer suffers season-threatening hip injury
After undergoing offseason surgery to repair a hampered shoulder, Vollmer is headed to the PUP/injured reserve list to begin the year with a hip injury suffered during training camp. With his body entering the twilight zone of its prime at 32 years of age, the Germany native could be facing a recovery time too formidable to overcome in order to put himself back on the playing field by the conclusion of the season.
If Vollmer begins the season on the injured reserve, he could be promoted to the active roster at some point during the season as each squad is allotted one player to be activated from the injured reserve per year. Losing the eight-year veteran makes the predicament that the Patriots face in the running game even more troublesome.
The team has already lost running back Dion Lewis for at least the first six games of the regular season due to the need for a second surgery on his left knee. Now, in the absence of one of the most forceful run-blocking tackles in the league, the likes of rushers LeGarrette Blount and James White will need to shoulder an increased load in shoving off tacklers and capitalizing on every single crevice that the offensive line creates for them.
If the Patriots perceive Vollmer's injury to be a roadblock too significant to recover from as the season progresses, they could opt to release him. This option would save New England $2.675 million in cap space should they decide to rely on six-year veteran Marcus Cannon to assume the role of starting right tackle throughout the season. The TCU product has performed admirably over the course of the preseason, utilizing his burly 6'5", 335-pound frame to physically outman opposing pass rushers attacking via the right side.
In 2013, Cannon was summoned to the first-string offensive line for eight games after a broken leg sidelined Vollmer, and he showcased his potential in scintillating fashion under offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. Having displayed an improved ability to pick up the pass rush and stand his ground over the course of the opening pair of preseason games, Cannon will be expected to replicate his output from three seasons ago while filling Vollmer's gaping 6'8", 320-pound void.
Guard Shaq Mason suffers broken hand
The much-maligned Patriots received even more harrowing news on Sunday, as starting left guard Shaq Mason had suffered a broken hand.
The second-year man was forced to sit out of New England's narrow 23-22 preseason victory over the Chicago Bears on Thursday night after sustaining the blow, and a timetable for his return has not been announced. Making the predicament more bleak is the fact that second-string left guard Josh Kline also was afflicted with a case of the injury bug in the win, hampering his right shoulder in the second quarter of the contest.
Fortunately for the Patriots brass, Kline was able to remain in the game following the tweaking of the shoulder, an issue which affected him throughout the latter portion of 2015 season. Should Mason, who started 10 games for New England last season, be unavailable to participate in the team's Week 1 season opening festivities against the Arizona Cardinals come September 11, Kline will be summoned into a starting role.
If Kline is unable to make the start, expect rookie Ted Karras to be promoted to a temporary starting role.