The Patriots parted ways with the veteran linebacker on Wednesday.
The New England Patriots and Sione Takitaki will go their separate ways in 2025. The team announced releasing the veteran linebacker on Wednesday afternoon, cutting his tenure in New England short halfway through the two-year free agency pact he signed last offseason.
What does the move mean from a big-picture perspective, though? Let’s take a closer look at it to find out.
Underwhelming return on investment
As noted above, the Patriots acquired Takitaki via a two-year contract in last year’s free agency. That pact came at a total value of $6.645 million with nearly half of it — $3.125 million — fully guaranteed. Needless to say, the veteran defender did not live up to the price tag in what turned out to be his lone season with the club.
Takitaki underwent a knee scope in the offseason, which in turn forced him to spend training camp on the physically unable to perform list. He was activated in mid-October, but failed to establish himself as the No. 3 linebacker he was originally signed to be: Takitaki started four of his 12 games, with his weekly defensive playing time fluctuating between 8 and 51 percent.
He registered 18 tackles along the way, while also missing five such attempts (21.7%) and giving up four receptions on five targets for 30 yards and a touchdown. Takitaki ended the 2024 season closer to the bottom than the top of the linebacker depth chart.
With a new coaching staff incoming, the Patriots have now decided they have seen enough of the 29-year-old.
Linebacker depth takes a hit
Even though Takitaki never managed to emerge past a rotational role in his challenging 2024 season, removing him from the equation still thins the herd at linebacker. With him now off the 53-man roster, the Patriots have four off-the-ball ‘backers remaining under contract:
Off-the-ball linebacker (4): Ja’Whaun Bentley (8), Jahlani Tavai (48), Curtis Jacobs (52), Monty Rice (45)
Free agents (1): Christian Elliss (RFA)
The Patriots keeping Elliss, presumably under the original round restricted free agency tender or a low-cost multi-year extension, would make sense given the current state of the position. With Takitaki gone, after all, the depth behind presumed starters Ja’Whaun Bentley and Jahlani Tavai looks quite shallow.
Curtis Jacobs is entering his second year in the NFL with limited experience on defense, while Monty Rice appeared in just three games during the 2024 season. The latter does have experience working under Mike Vrabel from his three-year stint with the Tennessee Titans, but that alone will not help him earn a job on a linebacker group likely to see some additions in the coming weeks
Special teams fallout
Even though he was signed for his potential defensive contributions, Takitaki also managed to play a role in the kicking game. In total, he was on the field for 112 special teams snaps last year, averaging a playing time share of 39 percent in the 11 games he was active.
Takitaki, who registered three combined tackles in the game’s third phase, was used on five units. His opportunities were somewhat sporadic — he only played in all of those units at the same time in one game — but the team still needs to find somebody else to step up, if only for depth purposes.
Sign of the times
The Patriots parting ways with Takitaki just one year after originally adding him to their roster is a sign of where the organization currently finds itself: it’s the Mike Vrabel show now, with the new head coach bringing his own vision of roster construction and defensive scheme to Foxboro.
Just look at it this way: the Patriots, led by de facto general manager Eliot Wolf and then-head coach Jerod Mayo, signed Takitaki last offseason because they saw him as a scheme and culture fit for their team and defense; it also did not hurt that Wolf was part of the Cleveland Browns when they first drafted him back in 2019.
With Vrabel and new defensive coordinator Terrell Williams now in town, however, there seemingly was a disconnect between how they view their team and Takitaki’s role within it. What that vision will look like on the field will be seen, but New England moving toward a different linebacker type than the 6-foot-1, 238-pounder might be part of the transformation.
Regardless, Vrabel will be actively involved in any and all decisions related to implementing that plan and the players that will be part of it.
Salary cap savings
The Patriots releasing Takitaki adds to their league-leading salary cap space, clearing a net total of $1.84 million.
The gross savings include his salary ($2.2M), offseason workout bonus ($150K) and likely-to-be-earned roster bonuses ($330K). Meanwhile, a player with a cap number of $840,000 will take his spot on the Top 51 list.
The Patriots’ cap space for 2025 now stands at $134.85 million relative to a projected spending ceiling of $279.5 million, according to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan. The NFL informed its teams on Wednesday that the cap will ultimately be set in the range of $277.5 million to $281.5 million.
Timing considerations
Takitaki getting released one month before the start of free agency can be seen as the team doing him a solid. He will get a head start compared to other players and is able to sign with another club right away.