Mike Onwenu will miss the next few weeks as Patriots assess ankle injury

The Patriots will be without starting guard Mike Onwenu for at least the next few weeks after he injured his ankle in Sunday's 20-3 win over Pittsburgh. Coach Mike Vrabel said Monday that he would not anticipate Onwenu being available in the short term, while declining to confirm a season-ending diagnosis.

That distinction matters for New England's offensive-line planning. The Patriots have a 2-0 start, but the win over Pittsburgh already cost them a key interior blocker and left the team preparing alternate plans for the next stretch of the schedule. Vrabel said the club would share more if the timeline changes.

The immediate report is therefore narrower than the early speculation: Onwenu is expected to miss the next several weeks, and the Patriots have not publicly established a final recovery timetable.