4 Patriots Who Could Be Benched in Second Half of Season

3. Ben Brown, C

With injuries plaguing the middle of the offensive line this season, the Patriots went out and signed center Ben Brown off the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad back in November. Even though the former Ole Miss product didn't have a ton of NFL success under his belt, New England was more than willing to roll the dice on him.

Unfortunately, Brown hasn't done the best job in terms of protection. He's only played to a grade of 53.4 as a run blocker, according to Pro Football Focus, and has also surrendered 10 pressures on 219 passing downs — good for a 45.1 pass block grade. All together, the 26-year-old blocker's 46.4 offense grade is the worst among 38 eligible centers this year.

Brown played well in his Week 6 debut, however, it's clear that he's been trending in the wrong direction since then. The Patriots need their offensive line to be as consistent as possible if they want Maye to thrive under center and that won't be the case as long as Brown is struggling in the middle of it all.

Brown's contract is up at the end of the season, so it'll be interesting to see if he can do enough between now and then to convince the Patriots that he should return next year.