{"id":13740,"date":"2025-02-12T11:45:03","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T11:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=13740"},"modified":"2025-02-12T11:45:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T11:45:03","slug":"patriot-place-what-defensive-free-agents-should-the-patriots-retain-and-let-walk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=13740","title":{"rendered":"Patriot Place: What Defensive Free Agents should the Patriots retain and let walk?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Patriot
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the 2025-2026 season, the New England Patriots will sport a new coaching staff headlined by Mike Vrabel. This new staff also includes a new defensive coordinator, Terrell Williams. The long-time defensive line coach not only worked in Detroit last season but previously was one of Vrabel\u2019s favorites in Tennessee. The defense lost a few key pieces over the last calendar year: star Matt Judon traded, the ascending Christian Barmore sidelined with health concerns and Jabrill Peppers in legal trouble mid-season. While it does appear that Barmore and Peppers will return to being key facets of the unit next season, several potential key pieces are not under contract for next season. That being said, who should they bring back to the 21st<\/sup> ranked defensive unit from last year?<\/p>\n

Retain: DB Jonathan Jones\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Jonathon Jones had a subpar season by his standards, but at 31 years old, it wasn\u2019t unexpected. Despite the return of Christian Gonzalez this past season, Jones still played quite a bit of outside cornerback and moved back to safety at times during the absence of Peppers. These constant transitions hurt his ability to find a level of consistency, but a versatile veteran leader shouldn\u2019t be the type of player the team looks to move on from. The former undrafted free agent has come a long way since his introduction to the league in 2016. The team should look to add to the defensive backfield, but that doesn\u2019t mean moving on from one of the better players already rostered.<\/p>\n

Contract Prediction: Returns, 2 Years | $17M<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Retain: ED Deatrich Wise\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Deatrich Wise is another long-tenured Patriot; he\u2019s been on the roster since being drafted in 2017. During his eight years, he has had some solid production, with a career high of 7.5 sacks in 2022. Nonetheless, his age will be a factor, as he will be 31 at the beginning of the season. While I\u2019d like to keep Wise around another season, there\u2019s some strong evidence that points to him not returning. The Patriots\u2019 struggle to stop the run may not have been solely due to his play, but the fact that he played less than 40% of the snaps on one of the league\u2019s worst run defenses suggests that last year\u2019s coaching staff may not have had much confidence in his ability to contribute in that area at this stage of his career.<\/p>\n

Despite being a captain last year, I predict Vrabel will opt for new depth across the defensive line.<\/p>\n

Contract Prediction: Departs, 2 Years | $6-8M with a Playoff Team<\/p>\n

Let Walk: DT Daniel Ekuale\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

While some fans may disagree about my assessment of Daniel Ekuale, I think it\u2019s time to move on. The Patriots don\u2019t have much need for a 31-year-old rotational lineman. He did have a career year, recording 52 tackles compared to his previous season high of 14, and played 65% of snaps. However, given how poor the team was stopping the run, it\u2019s probably time to look elsewhere, specifically for younger players. Ekuale\u2019s market will be niche but will likely garner him some decent money. Solid (though aging) pass rushing defensive tackles don\u2019t grow on trees and have a place in the NFL. I like Ekuale; it\u2019s just not the right situation for now.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Departs, 2 Years | $4-6M elsewhere<\/p>\n

Let Walk: SAF Jaylinn Hawkins\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Jaylinn Hawkins was a bit of a surprise in camp prior to last season, and with the absences of both Peppers and Kyle Dugger at different points, he saw some solid action, playing more than half the snaps. Similar to Ekuale, I like Hawkins, although I don\u2019t think he\u2019s the player the team needs right now. He has looked a bit lost at times playing out of position as a deeper safety. Should he play in position, the team has man players vying for the box safety role: Peppers, Dugger and 2023 third round pick Marte Mapu have all played in that spot at a higher level than Hawkins. He\u2019ll have a market in free agency, and it isn\u2019t out of the question that the Patriots re-sign him, but I do feel they could use an upgrade at the free safety spot.<\/p>\n

Contract Prediction: Departs, 2 Years | $2-3M elsewhere<\/p>\n

Retain: ED Oshane Ximines\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Oshane Ximines had an impressive pre-season in 2024 but played just fourteen snaps in Week 1 before being placed on season-ending injured reserve. With how much the team struggled rushing the passer, him returning wouldn\u2019t be the worst option. He won\u2019t have a lucrative market in Free Agency, and should he be given the opportunity to return to Foxborough; it\u2019s not unreasonable to think he could make the team again. An inexpensive pre-season performer seems to be a pretty solid bet to return, even with a new member of staff.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Contract Prediction: Returns, Veteran Minimum<\/p>\n

Restricted Free Agents (RFAs)\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Restricted Free Agents are players with exactly three accrued seasons in the NFL. A team can choose to \u201ctender\u201d a player or offer them a one-year contract with one of three values: a first-round tender, a second-round tender, or an original round tender. These tenders are of varying values, usually in the range of $4M, $2M and $1M respectively. The team has only one defensive player who fits this mold:<\/p>\n

LB Christian Elliss<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Christian Elliss played much more than anyone expected following an early season injury to Ja\u2019Whaun Bentley, and he struggled at times. In the end, Elliss managed a very respectable 72.6 PFF grade and was a solid run stopper, managing 80 total tackles along with an interception and 1.5 sacks. While he isn\u2019t starting caliber, there\u2019s little reason not to see Elliss return on the original round tender to be a rotational piece.<\/p>\n

Exclusive Rights Free Agents (ERFAs)\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Exclusive Rights Free Agents are players with an expired contract and fewer than three accrued seasons. These players must sign the ERFA tender (a one year, sub-million-dollar deal) if the team offers it to them. The Patriots have a pair player that fit this description:<\/p>\n

DT Jeremiah Pharms and CB Alex Austin\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

DT Jeremiah Pharms signed a two-year contract with New England on 2\/11, reported to include $250K in guarantees, including a $100K signing bonus. Further conditions of the contract are currently unknown.<\/p>\n

While I wasn\u2019t enamored with the ERFA\u2019s on the offensive side, both players had some very solid play at different points. Pharms managed 19 pressures on the year, while Alex Austin built on his solid play at the end of 2023. Given their minute price tags, and solid play, Austin should similarly return to the team.<\/p>\n

While the defensive unit did disappoint a bit last season, with HC Mike Vrabel and DC Terrell Williams at the helm, they should be able to quickly steer themselves back on track. The first step to returning to the great Patriots defenses will be building solid depth, and these in-house free agents should be able to do just that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the 2025-2026 season, the New England Patriots will sport a new coaching staff headlined by Mike Vrabel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\nPatriot Place: What Defensive Free Agents should the Patriots retain and let walk? - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=13740\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patriot Place: What Defensive Free Agents should the Patriots retain and let walk? 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