Bill Belichick often talks about depth on his roster, but with two offensive tackles -- starter Tom Ashworth and No. 1 reserve Adrian Klemm -- on injured reserve, the Patriots have no true, experienced backup tackle behind current starters Matt Light and Brandon Gorin.

With that in mind, the Patriots worked out a pair of tackles on Tuesday. According to a source, former Seahawk and Giant Jeff Roehl and seven-year veteran Sammy Williams were in Foxborough for a tryout, although the team would not confirm the visits.

Roehl, 24, originally signed with the Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2003 and played in 12 games for New York, starting two. The 6-4, 300-pound tackle out of Orland Park, Ill., starred at Northwestern after transferring from Notre Dame after one year. He spent time with Seattle in 2004, but did not appear in a game.

Williams, 29, was a 1998 sixth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens and spent his rookie season on injured reserve. The 6-5, 310-pounder spent part of 1999 with Kansas City before re-joining Baltimore in November of that year. He remained with the Ravens through 2001 and actually made seven starts for Balitmore in '01.

He signed with San Diego in 2002 and made seven starts for the Chargers that season before joining Jacksonville in 2003. He was released by the Jaguars on Sept. 5, 2004. He has appeared in 29 NFL games with 14 starts.

With no backup tackle, the Patriots were forced to use guard Stephen Neal at the spot during the fourth quarter in Pittsburgh when Light was dinged up. Neal was presumably the backup last week in St. Louis as well with Russ Hochstein waiting in the wings to play Neal's guard spot in the vent of a switch..