Yodny

Cajuste

Cajuste will likely be getting a one-year deal after getting waived a couple of weeks ago. He visited both the Giants and Jets in his brief free agency. 27 in June, Cajuste will compete as depth on the Jets OL chart.

Cajuste was a third-round pick of the Patriots in 2019 but has played on just 278 offensive snaps through four seasons. A quad surgery landed him on the non-football injury list during his rookie season, while a knee injury sidelined him for all of 2020. Cajuste’s profile as a rookie was marred with injuries dating back to his time at West Virginia. If he latches on with a team this offseason, he’ll likely compete for a spot on the depth chart in hopes of earning a bigger role down the line.

A restricted free agent, Cajuste had been tendered at an original round level, but New England brought in Calvin Anderson and Riley Reiff this offseason and Cajuste started just five games in four seasons since being drafted in the third round in 2019. He’ll likely catch on elsewhere because of his pedigree and dimensions.

Cajuste signed his tender and will make $2.7 million in 2023. He appeared in 10 games for the Pats last year, five of which were starts. Cajuste missed all of his first and second seasons because of injuries but has been able to serve as a critical depth option in New England over the past two years.

The second-year pro is week to week. In theory, Cajuste is critical depth for an offensive line that will be missing Marcus Cannon this season, though the reality is probably that the Pats aren’t counting on him for much after he missed all of 2019 with a quad injury.

The No. 101 overall pick of last year’s draft, Cajuste ended up spending his entire rookie year on injured reserve as he recovered from quad surgery. He had been in the mix for swing tackle duties before going down. The Patriots did not add much competition behind Isaiah Wynn and Marcus Cannon this offseason, leaving 24-year-old Cajuste in a good position to claim swing duties one year later than initially hoped.

Cajuste continues to recover from offseason quad surgery. He’s expected to serve as a backup tackle once healthy.

Cajuste was held out of spring practices and still isn’t ready for a return after undergoing offseason quad surgery. The treatment began prior to April’s NFL Draft. Cajuste is expected to operate as a backup tackle early in his career, but a thin depth chart could push him into the starting lineup if he can get healthy and show well in practices. The good news for the Patriots is Isaiah Wynn dodged being placed on the active/PUP list today, meaning he’s ready for on-field drills.

The quad procedure didn’t scare the Patriots off from drafting him at 101st overall. Trent Brown’s free-agent defection combined with Jared Veldheer’s surprise retirement have given the Patriots an aura of uncertainty at tackle. Further complicating matters, 2018 first-rounder Isaiah Wynn, a leading candidate to start on Tom Brady’s blind side, is coming off a torn Achilles suffered last summer. Cajuste has the opportunity to be a helpful backup/swing option for the reigning Super Bowl champs, but first he’ll have to get healthy.

Cajuste (6’5/312) made 30 starts in five seasons for Dana Holgorsen’s Mountaineers, overcoming early-career injuries to earn Big 12 Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year as a redshirt senior left tackle. Unfortunately, Cajuste sat out almost all offseason workouts with recurring knee and ankle injuries. A high school basketball star, Cajuste has NFL-caliber length (34-inch arms) and consistently kept Will Grier clean in pass protection, but his absence of an athletic profile and durability are concerns. Cajuste looks like a boom-bust prospect with starting left tackle upside whose floor is a long-term reserve. There could be 2019 snaps for the taking in the Patriots’ tackle group.