Trade with Browns shows how desperate Patriots are for OL depth

The New England Patriots have some major problems on their offensive line, and they tried to address that on Sunday by making a desperation trade with the Cleveland Browns.

The Patriots sent running back Pierre Strong — their fourth-round pick a year ago — to the Browns in exchange for tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr. 

Wheatley Jr. is 26 years old and has never appeared in an NFL game, and did not seem to have a pathway to making the Browns' initial 53-man roster. The fact New England was willing to trade a fourth-round pick from just a year ago for a player in Wheatley Jr.'s position is a pretty good indicator of just how bad the situation is for them.

It is not only a lack of impact talent that hurts, but also mounting injuries that have robbed the Patriots of whatever depth they might have had along the line.

Of the 16 offensive linemen the Patriots had on their roster going into their preseason finale, seven of them were injured. That is a problem for any team, but especially one that doesn't have a very mobile quarterback like Mac Jones. 

While the offensive line is a major weakness for the Patriots, their running back room was a position of strength and gave them some flexibility to make a deal. 

Strong did not play a huge role for the Patriots as a rookie but managed 100 yards on 10 carries (that is a 10-yard per-carry average) while also catching seven passes for 42 yards. He also scored one touchdown.

He will give the Browns some running back depth behind starter Nick Chubb.