Following a series of futures additions and the release of offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, the New England Patriots have now made their first player re-signing of the 2025 offseason. Defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. was retained on a reported two-year contract extension.

Pharms Jr., a former undrafted free agent who originally arrived in 2022, was coming off the best season of his career. Originally set to enter exclusive-rights free agency in March, he will instead be part of the team through the 2026 season.

What does the signing mean for the Patriots, though? Let’s assess.

Regime fit

The Patriots’ incoming staff led by head coach Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams likes one thing out of its defensive linemen: aggressiveness. From that perspective, Pharms Jr. getting re-signed makes plenty of sense.

The 28-year-old has been violent at the point of attack whenever on the field, and showing a high motor along the way. His game against the Chicago Bears in Week 10, when he registered a sack, two hurries and five total tackles, was his best performance to date and a perfect encapsulation of all that.

All in all, Pharms Jr. offers quality depth as a rotational pass rusher who can also hold his own in the running game. And while the former UDFA does have limitations from a size perspective and is not the most natural talent, he is trying to make up for his shortcomings with an A-plus effort on every down — something Vrabel and Williams put a high value on as well.

Jeremiah Pharms makes sense for a new regime that values violence and effort

The 29 y/o's quickness, burst, and relentless hands made him the #Patriots only DT who showed up vs both run and pass down the stretch

Hoping we see more games like Chicago under Terrell Williams https://t.co/TLCIbC0DnL pic.twitter.com/TB4ltVFMWF

— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) February 11, 2025

Defensive tackle depth

The Patriots entered the offseason with five interior defensive linemen on their roster, plus three more headed toward free agency. Re-signing Pharms Jr. moves one player from that second to the first category, and — together with Marcus Harris signing a reserve/futures pact — gives the team a stronger foundation to build on heading into 2025.

In total, the Patriots’ current interior defensive line looks as follows:

Tackles (6): Christian Barmore (90), Davon Godchaux (92), Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (98), Jaquelin Roy (94), Eric Johnson (96), Marcus Harris (58)

Ends (1): Keion White (99)

The biggest question mark outside of how the new coaching staff will employ its linemen is whether or not Christian Barmore will return to his Pro Bowl-caliber form in 2025, or return to the team at all. The former second-round draft pick, who signed a four-year contract extension last offseason, missed most of 2024 after being diagnosed with blood clots.

Also unclear is the outlook of the Patriots’ remaining two free agents up front. Tackle Daniel Ekuale and end Deatrich Wise Jr., both of whom in their 30s, are set to enter the open market as unrestricted free agents in March.

Given all of those potential moving pieces, Pharms Jr. staying put at least improves the depth from a foundational point of view.

Cap considerations

Even thought the details of Pharms Jr.’s new pact with the Patriots are not yet known, the expectation is that it will not leave too big a dent in the team’s salary cap in either 2025 or 2026. He simply has not been a consistent-enough contributor to the team over the last three seasons, despite showing some promise and having value as a rotational depth piece.

Realistically, the new deal will average slightly more than the $1.03 million exclusive-rights free agent tender the Patriots would have signed him to. In addition, it should be expected to come with some guarantees, mostly in the form of a signing bonus prorated over the length of the reported two-year deal.

The Patriots are heading toward free agency as the league leaders in available resources. According to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, they are $103.7 million under a projected $275 million salary cap. Even with Pharms Jr. re-signed, that number will not change dramatically.

Long-term outlook

Signing a two-year extension means that Pharms Jr. is now under contract with the Patriots through 2026. He is one of 32 players sharing that distinction at the moment, a group including the team’s best players on either side of the ball, quarterback Drake Maye (2027 plus fifth-year option) and cornerback Christian Gonzalez (2026 plus fifth-year option).

As far as the upcoming free agency period is concerned, Pharms Jr. was one of originally 17 players headed for the open market either as an unrestricted, restricted, or exclusive-rights free agent. With him re-signed and the aforementioned Chukwuma Okorafor released that number is now down to 15.