The Patriots entered the 2025 offseason with 17 players set to hit the open market.
With the 2024 NFL season officially in the books, all focus shifts toward the future. For the New England Patriots, it is one of change: the team hired Mike Vrabel as its new head coach in January, and he brought an almost entirely new group of assistants with him.
The personnel turnover this offseason will not be confined to the coaching staff, however. The Patriots also will need to further rebuild their roster after back-to-back four-win seasons, starting in free agency.
Financially, the team will be well-equipped to do so. According to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, the team is currently $103.7 million under a projected $275 million cap — most in the league by a significant margin. That gives the Patriots plenty of opportunity to not only add quality from the outside, but also take care of their own class of free agents if they so choose.
Doing so will likely not put a lot of financial strain on the team either: a lack of star power is the defining feature of the Patriots’ 2025 free agency class, one that originally stood at 17 deep entering the offseason.
Patriots offensive free agents
QB Jacoby Brissett (UFA): Re-joining the Patriots via a one-year, $8 million free agency pact last offseason, Brissett began the 2024 season as the team’s starting quarterback. His tenure lasted only five games, after which he was demoted to second-stringer behind rookie Drake Maye. In total, the team captain ended the year going 95-for-161 for 826 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. With Maye’s job secure and and another youngster — Joe Milton — on the team as well, the Patriots bringing Brissett back for another season seems like a long-shot.
OL Ben Brown (ERFA): The Patriots picked up Brown from the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad in October, and promptly inserted him as their starting center in lieu of veteran David Andrews. He ended up starting 10 games before being moved to injured reserve with a concussion. Even if he had not been sent to IR, however, he was a candidate to lose his starting job to a convalescent Cole Strange. Nonetheless, he is a candidate to return as an exclusive-rights free agent.
OL Lester Cotton (RFA): Cotton joined the Patriots in November via the waiver wire and spent the rest of the 2024 season as an emergency option along the interior offensive line. He was active for three of five games down the stretch, playing 19 snaps on offense and one on special teams along the way. New England tendering the restricted free agent seems unlikely at this point.
RB JaMycal Hasty (UFA): A rotational member of New England’s running back corps, Hasty saw uneven opportunities and touches in 2024. In total, he played 9.8 percent of offensive snaps and touched the ball 30 times for 128 yards and a touchdown. Hasty, who also averaged 23.8 yards on 10 kickoff returns, would be a low-cost depth option if brought back.
TE Austin Hooper (UFA): One of the few positive contributors to the Patriots’ underwhelming 2024 offense, Hooper caught 45 passes for 476 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first season with the team — ranking in the team’s top 4 in all three categories. Serving as the No. 2 tight end alongside Hunter Henry, he seemingly built a good chemistry with rookie quarterback Drake Maye and appears to have made a solid case for himself to be retained in free agency.
WR JaQuae Jackson (ERFA): An undrafted free agent, who began his career with the Atlanta Falcons, Jackson joined the Patriots in June and was placed on season-ending injured reserve in August. His future with the team is uncertain.
OT Demontrey Jacobs (ERFA): Starting games at both left and right tackle, Jacobs ended up playing a prominent role along the Patriots’ offensive line in 2024. Whether or not the fact that he started 13 total games and ranked second on the team with 867 offensive snaps (79.3%) is enough to keep him around as an ERFA will be seen. He primarily projects as a backup option after some up-and-down play throughout his time on the field.
An eighth offensive player, OT Chukwuma Okorafor, was also originally set to enter the open market as an unrestricted free agent. However, he was released this week after spending most of the 2024 season on the reserve/left squad list.
Patriots defensive free agents
CB Alex Austin (ERFA): Although he started the year in a backup role and later had to spend time on injured reserve with an ankle issue, Austin had some positive moments in 2024. A three-game starter down the stretch, he has yet to prove himself a suitable No. 2 opposite All-Pro Christian Gonzalez. However, he appears to have made a case for himself to at least be retained in free agency.
DT Daniel Ekuale (UFA): Ekuale had a career season in terms of playing time, in large part due to Christian Barmore missing most of the year following his blood clots diagnosis. His more prominent role — he played 64.6 percent of defensive snaps, tops among New England’s defensive tackles — seemingly did not suit him: more of a situational pass rusher than an early-down gap occupier, he was part of the team’s run game issues. The Patriots will have to weight that and the fact he turned 31 prevent versus his contributions as a sub rusher.
LB Christian Elliss (RFA): Primarily a special teamer early in his career, Elliss was thrust into a spot starter role on defense following the season-ending injury suffered by Ja’Whaun Bentley in Week 2. His play was uneven, but he appears to have value as an experienced rotational player better suited to defend the pass than the run. Anything more than the original-round/UDFA restricted free agency tender would still be a surprise for the 26-year-old, though.
S Jaylinn Hawkins (UFA): The Patriots’ safety room suffered from constant personnel turnover in 2024, and Hawkins was no exception. Even though he was active for all 17 games and contributed as a core special teamer, his playing time fluctuated en route to a 54.7-percent outing. Depending on what the team’s new defensive coaching staff envisions from a coverage and personnel package perspective, retaining Hawkins on another low-cost deal might make sense for depth and kicking game purposes.
CB Jonathan Jones (UFA): The most experienced player on the Patriots’ list of free agents, Jones has been a valuable and versatile defensive back ever since his arrival as a rookie free agent in 2015. Whether or not that will allow him to return under a new regime remains to be seen, though: he looked uncharacteristically slow at times in 2024 and might be best suited for a more specialized role moving forward.
DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (UFA): A team captain, who has been part of the Patriots since 2017, Wise Jr. saw his snaps decrease under head coach Jerod Mayo last year: his 36.5-percent playing time share was his lowest since 2019, and a possible sign of the team intending to move in a different direction in free agency. Of course, the change in coaching staff might lead to a change in outlook — especially if Mike Vrabel and company feel good about his leadership and ability to still perform as a versatile, pass-first defender even at age 31.
ED Oshane Ximines (UFA): The Patriots signed Ximines to a one-year, $1.3 million free agency pact last year, and he appeared to be on his way to earn a role as a member of their outside linebacker rotation. However, a torn ACL suffered in September put those plans on halt and ended his season prematurely. Given New England’s current edge depth, re-signing him on a low-cost contract might make sense if the medicals check out.
Also originally on the list of defensive free agents was DT Jeremiah Pharms Jr., an exclusive-rights free agent. The 28-year-old has since been retained via a reported two-year contract extension.
Patriots special teams free agents
K Joey Slye (UFA): Slye beat out incumbent Chad Ryland in training camp, but he went on to have an inconsistent 2024 season. In total, he made 26 of 33 field goal attempts (78.8%) and 25 of 26 point-after tries (96.2%). While not all of his misses fell on him, his outing paired with the fact that the team added John Parker Romo late in the year makes for an unclear outlook heading toward free agency.
While the 15 players listed here — not including Chukwuma Okorafor and Jeremiah Pharms Jr. — are currently facing an uncertain future from a contractual standpoint, they are not the only players on the team whose outlook is unclear. With a new coaching staff coming aboard, several changes beyond free agency could happen.
This means that even though there are currently 57 players either under contract or signed to reserve/futures pacts, they are not safe to be on the 2025 team either. All we do know is that the Patriots have work to do to get their roster back to a competitive state.