Moses signed a three-year deal this offseason.
Despite New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel breaking the huddle to conclude the team’s second organized team activity on Tuesday, the work was not finished for a pair of offensive tackles.
As players departed the practice field to the locker room, veteran right tackle Morgan Moses stayed behind with rookie Will Campbell. The two remained for over 10 minutes working on and talking through different footwork and hand placement techniques before being joined by a handful of fellow young lineman.
Through their short time together being teammates, that extra work with Campbell is nothing new for Moses, which has impressed the 34-year-old veteran.
“The way he approaches the game. He’s eager to learn. He asks questions every day. He’s like, ‘Bro, can we get some sets?’,” Moses said following practice. “And just talking football. His locker is right beside mine, so we get to talk about football all day.
“And obviously, he’s a stud, man. He’s played great football in college, and so now he’s just trying to figure it out where, like, every week, you’re going against somebody that has a guy so just fine tune, not trying to change stuff, but just fine tuning the things he’s learned in college and taking him to the NFL and just on the field and getting challenged every day.”
As Campbell assumed his expected spot at left tackle in the Patriots second practice, Moses was opposite of him on the right side. The veteran, who has logged 158 career starts, was signed to a three-year deal this offseason to help hold down the right tackle spot which was the weakest point on New England’s offensive line last season.
Moses’ impact is expected to extend off the field as a leader, which was shown on Tuesday despite him being a limited participant in practice as he recovers from an offseason knee surgery.
“I think it’s the biggest thing. I’ve been blessed to be under a lot of great tackles. I played with Trent Williams for five, six years, and just being able to learn from him and just take it on the field,” Moses said. “It’s vital because being a vet that’s played 12 years, and being able to sprinkle those little things to those guys and see them use them in practice and get better, and just build a toolbox for themselves. It’s good for everybody.”
Besides staying late after practice, Moses has stayed late to watch film and taken teammates out to dinner as he helps the younger players in the offensive line room along. He credited fellow veterans Garrett Bradbury and Wes Schweitzer for additionally being “phenomenal” for the room.
It’s all part of the process — which can be difficult for lineman with no contact allowed in this portion of the offseason — to be at their best when the season rolls around.
“The offensive line is a unique position because in the offseason, you’re training against a bag all day and then you got to go out there and block a live moving object,” Moses said. “It takes the guys a little bit of time to get acclimated to the speed and stuff. Really just coming out here, learning the plays, being in the huddle, listening to Drake [Maye], seeing what Drake sees, everybody being on the same chord, just playing football and having fun.
“We’re building the identity. We got a lot of new players, a lot of young players who are going to be out there playing this year so just getting them comfortable with the schemes and terminology so we can go out there and play fast.”