With a month to go before the start of NFL free agency, the New England Patriots have begun re-signing their first players. Among them is defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr., an exclusive rights free agent who was retained on a two-year contract extension at a total value of $2.475 million.

Despite the team rewarding the former undrafted rookie with a new deal — one that includes $350,000 in guarantees — Pharms Jr. is not a lock to find himself on the 2025 roster. A closer look at his contract shows that it is still one the club could easily move on from without major salary cap repercussions.

DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr.: Contract details

2025:
Base salary: $1,030,000
Signing bonus: $50,000
Salary cap hit: $1,080,000

2026:
Base salary: $1,145,000
Signing bonus: $50,000
Roster bonus: $170,000
Workout bonus: $30,000
Salary cap hit: $1,245,000

The Patriots essentially gave Pharms Jr. the exclusive rights tender deal plus extra benefits. His base salary for 2025 is the exact amount the ERFA tender would have been worth, but they added another year to it plus some guarantees: his $100,000 signing bonus, prorated over the length of the deal, plus $250,000 of his 2025 salary are fully guaranteed.

That number would also be his dead salary cap hit if let go, with the timing of such a move deciding when it would hit the cap: if Pharms Jr. gets released on roster cutdown day, for example, his 2025 dead cap impact would be $300,000 via his salary guarantee and 2025 signing bonus proration; the other $50,000 would remain on the team’s books for 2026.

While those numbers can add up over dozens of contracts, they still are only a drop in the bucket that is a projected salary cap of $275 million — one New England currently is $128.69 million under. As a result, Pharms Jr.’s new deal does not lock him onto the team in 2025.

That being said, it is a vote of confidence. And there is reason to be optimistic, too: the 29-year-old played his best football to date last season and offers experienced depth along a defensive line that struggled in that regard in 2024. Pharms Jr. may never become a difference maker along the interior D-line, but he has shown he can be a valuable piece of the puzzle.

If he does so again this summer, he will be on the team come the regular season.