Welcome back to NFL free agency!
The Patriots are trying to put some finishing touches on a roster that just went to the Super Bowl, and they still have work to do.
On Monday, they signed edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones, fullback Reggie Gilliam and left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker. Heading into Tuesday, wide receiver, tight end, edge rusher and safety are still significant needs.
Find every Patriots signing, trade and rumor here this week, plus free-agent grades, on the Herald’s up-to-the-minute live tracker.
Tuesday
Source: Patriots signing ex-Packers WR Romeo Doubs
2:15 p.m. The Patriots have their Stefon Diggs replacement.
Ex-Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs, the best free-agent wideout available, is joining the Pats, a source confirmed to the Herald’s Doug Kyed. According to Sports Illustrated, Doubs is signing a 4-year, $68 million deal with a maximum value of $80 million.
Doubs is coming off a career year in Green Bay, where he had 55 catches for 724 yards and six touchdowns during the regular season. He also had 124 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Packers’ Wild Card playoff loss at Chicago. Last season was the first year of his career he topped 700 total yards.
Doubs is a taller, deep-threat target who profiles as a No. 2-3 receiver in most offenses. He primarily aligned out wide in Green Bay and took 17% of his snaps in the slot. Packers quarterback Jordan Love had a passer rating of 112.7 when targeting Doubs, one of the highest ratings when targeted in the league among regular receivers. Doubs posted a career-high receiving success rate over 58%, a reflection of his ability to keep the offense on schedule when targeted.
He will turn 26 next month and joins Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III on the team’s depth chart.
Grade: B
In a free-agent class the Patriots felt didn’t boast many real game-changers, Doubs isn’t an exception. But he did make the Patriots better Tuesday.
Doubs helps the Pats’ offense by accentuating an existing strength (deep passing) and mitiating a specific weakness (wide receiver play versus man-to-man coverage). Doubs was the 20th-best receiver against man coverage last year by Pro Football Focus grades and average yards per route run. He’s a tall target with 4.4 speed who’s caught more than half of the contested-catch targets over his career, per PFF. Though, that percentage dipped a year ago to 43.3%.
Doubs will never dictate coverage and his presence does not fundamentally change what the Patriots can do offensively.. But there’s a case he’s better than most, if not all, of the receivers on the Patriots’ roster.
Boutte has never topped 600 receiving yards in a season, let alone 724, and doesn’t boast the same physical gifts. Like Boutte, Doubs seems to have matured recently, after getting suspended for one game in 2024 because he missed meetings over his diminished role in the Packers’ offense.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs reacts during an NFL wild-card game against the Chicago Bears on Saturday, Jan.10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
Doubs’ contract makes him the 20th-highest paid wide receiver in the league. A bit rich, but that’s free agency. He’s also tied for 27th by average annual value, per Over the Cap, with re-signed Seahawks target Rashid Shaheed. Doubs is less dynamic than Shaheed, but a better fit in New England.
The final piece of this signing is perhaps the most interesting: Doubs’ addition tilts some leverage back toward the Patriots in any negotiations they might revisit with Philadelphia over an A.J. Brown trade. If Doubs’ deal helps them land Brown, a legitimate No. 1, it’s all worth it. The Eagles can still point to the Patriots’ blah receiving corps as a reason Mike Vrabel and Eliot Wolf should meet their price, but the Pats can more believably assert they’re willing to head into the regular season with this group.
They have depth, deep targets and young receivers with more to offer. Not just Boutte, Douglas and Williams, but Doubs now, too.
Day 2 opens with few big names left
6 a.m. Most big-ticket free agents are off the board.
At the Patriots’ positions of need, there’s edge defenders Trey Hendrickson, Arnold Ebikitie and their own K’Lavon Chaisson, wide receivers Romeo Doubs and Jauan Jennings, tight end Chig Okonkwo, and safeties Nick Cross and Jaylinn Hawkins.
Expect the Pats to be more active here on Day 2.
Monday
Report: Patriots sign LG Alijah Vera-Tucker
11:55 p.m. The Patriots agreed to terms with former Jets guard Alijah Vera-Tucker late on Monday night.
It’s a three-year, $42 million contract worth up to $48 million, per ESPN.
Vera-Tucker projects as the Patriots’ starting left guard with 2025 rookie Jared Wilson moving to center. The 26-year-old offensive lineman will join Wilson, left tackle Will Campbell, right guard Mike Onwenu and right tackle Morgan Moses on the starting offensive line.
Vera-Tucker has started 43 games in his NFL career at left guard, right guard and right tackle. He’s missed considerable time with triceps and Achilles injuries.
Patriots fill major need by signing free-agent offensive lineman away from Jets
Grade: B+
Vera-Tucker comes with plenty of risk — he’s appeared in barely half the games the Jets have played since drafting him in 2021 — but he was worth it.
In a sentence: Vera-Tucker was the best left guard available, a Pro Bowl-caliber talent and potential fixture on their offensive line for years to come. Signing him solves a major need for the Patriots, who must protect Drake Maye better in 2026. In his last full season, Vera-Tucker allowed a pressure rate of 2.8%, per Pro Football Focus, and graded out as a top-10 player overall at his position. This is a talented, versatile, smart, athetlic guard in his physical prime.
There was no better player the Patriots could have signed to fill their left guard spot. With a reliable veteran behind him in Ben Brown, the Pats can stomach a few games lost. What they couldn’t afford is to let someone like Vera-Tucker slip over a few bucks.
Report: Patriots lose Vederian Lowe to 49ers
4:15 p.m. Backup left tackle Vederian Lowe is leaving the Patriots for a 2-year deal with the 49ers, according to reports.
Lowe’s deal is worth up to $12 million, with $5.75 million guaranteed, per the NFL Network. He started four games in Will Campbell’s absence last year, and there is no obvious option to replace him on the roster. The Patriots originally added Lowe in a trade with the Vikings in Aug. 2023. He started 25 of 42 game appearances for the Pats, who now have Campbell, Morgan Moses and Marcus Bryant at the position. Thayer Munford Jr. is an unrestricted free agent, while fellow backup Yasir Durant is a restricted free agent.
Source: Khyiris Tonga leaves for 3-year deal in Kansas City
2 p.m. Ex-Patriots defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga is leaving to sign a 3-year free-agent contract with the Chiefs worth up to $21 million, according to a source.
Tonga started eight of 17 games last year, recording 31 tackles, a sack, four QB hits and a pair of pass breakups. Tonga departs after a career year in New England, where he signed a flier contract in free agency last spring. He blossomed as a pass rusher, generating consistent interior pressure that moved opposing quarterbacks off their spot.
Tonga finished the season with the 18th-highest pass-rush grade among defensive tackles at Pro Football Focus, and a top-40 grade at his position. He also moonlighted as a fullback in short-yardage situations. Head coach Mike Vrabel regularly praised Tonga for his attitude and work ethic inside the building.
New England Patriots defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga warms up prior to the start of an NFL game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Foxboro. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)
The Patriots were close to a contract extension with Tonga last December, when talks fell apart near the finish line, per sources. The 29-year-old then saw league interest expand in a depressed defensive tackle market and out-performed expectations with his new deal in Kansas City. Initial projections had Tonga closer to $4-5 million per year.
The Pats now need to fill a hole at defensive tackle behind Milton Williams and Christian Barmore, with Cory Durden, Joshua Farmer and Leonard Taylor III among the top reserves.
Report: Ex-Bills FB Reggie Gilliam joining on 3-year deal
1:15 p.m. Former Bills fullback Reggie Gilliam is staying within the division, signing a 3-year deal worth up to $12 million with the Patriots that includes $6 million guaranteed, his agent told the NFL Network.
Gilliam spent the first six years of his career in Buffalo, where he caught a total of 16 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed eight times for 14 yards. Gilliam, who stands at six-foot and 244 pounds, was arguably the best fullback available, along with Baltimore’s Patrick Ricard.
The Patriots needed a fullback last season, when they converted backup tight end Jack Westover late in the summer. Westover mostly struggled to create running lanes and figures to move back to his natural position. Gilliam now leads rising second-year fullback Brock Lampe on the depth chart.
Grade: B
A roster hole filled.
Gilliam is a strong lead blocker, something the Patriots didn’t have for all of last season (except when they moved defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga to offense for a few short-yardage snaps). Last year, the Pats’ rushing success rate from 21 personnel (two backs and one tight end) was 30.56%, according to SumerSports, an terribly low figure. Whenever Westover was on the field, their success rate was 32.76%.
Gilliam doesn’t figure to factor as a pass-catcher or rusher, though, which diminishes some of his value after signing for the fourth-most guaranteed money given to a fullback. Lampe might also prove to be a capable fullback, something the Patriots cannot possibly know now, but might lead to some regret with this deal. One thing they can bank on: special teams contributions. Gilliam was a core special teamer for years in Buffalo.
Report: TE Austin Hooper leaves for Atlanta
New England Patriots tight end Austin Hooper reacts during the first half of an NFL game against the Houston Texans on Oct. 13 in Foxboro. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)
1:10 p.m. The Patriots will have a new No. 2 tight end in 2026.
Austin Hooper is leaving to sign a 1-year deal in Atlanta, according to the NFL Network. Hooper had 21 catches for 263 yards and two touchdowns last year, when he started six games. The 31-year-old had been with the team since he originally signed as a free agent in 2024.
The Pats are expected to try to add a tight end in free agency and the draft behind starter Hunter Henry.
Source: Pats signing OLB Dre’Mont Jones
12:10 p.m. The Patriots are signing ex-Titans and Ravens edge defender Dre’Mont Jones, a source confirmed to the Herald’s Doug Kyed.
Jones will receive a 3-year, $39.5 million deal, per the NFL Network.
The Patriots had interest in Jones at the trade deadline, when he went from Tennessee to Baltimore for a fifth-round pick. At 6-foot-3 and 281 pounds, he can rush off the edge and inside. Between the Titans and Ravens, he totaled seven sacks and 24 QB hits last year.
The Pats are not expected to be done in the edge market, per sources. Several top names are still available, including Odafe Oweh, Boye Mafe and their own K’Lavon Chaisson.
Grade: A-
Analysis: A nice piece of business.
Jones helps address a major need and lands a contract outside the top 25 among edge rushers by total contract value and average annual value. He had seven sacks and the 11th-most QB hits in the league last year (24). His 51 total pressures ranked 25th in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, ahead of some big-name free agents like Mafe.
Baltimore Ravens defensive end Dre’Mont Jones celebrates after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye during the first half of an NFL game last season. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Jones provides immediate insurance in case the Patriots lose Chaisson for what should be more money. He’s also more versatile, having played in several systems and at virtually every position across the defensive front in pass-rushing situations. He also just turned 29.
Jones never played for MIke Vrabel, but his violent, high-effort playing style should fit seamlessly in New England. Shortly after he signed, ex-Eagles and Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips agreed to a 4-year, $120 million deal with Carolina, which makes this deal look better in this light: would the Patriots rather have one great rusher with an injury history for $30 million annually or two above-average rushers for the same money?
With Jones already locked down for just more than $16 million per year, they’re halfway toward the second option, with other top targets still available.
Alec Pierce returns to Indianapolis on 4-year, $116 million deal
12:05 p.m. The Patriots’ top wide receiver target is off the board.
Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce has agreed to re-sign on a 4-year, $116 million deal, per reports. The Patriots had interest in the 25-year-old, who is among the best deep threats in the league. Recent reports indicated the team was involved at around $26-27 million. Pierce ultimately signs for $29 million annually.
Romeo Doubs is now the best wideout available. According to ESPN, the Patriots were monitoring his market. Doubs spent the last four seasons in Green Bay.
Source: FB Jack Westover retained
11:15 a.m. The Patriots have tendered fullback/tight end Jack Westover, an exclusive rights free agent, a source told the Herald’s Doug Kyed. Westover will return to New England on a one-year contract. If he continues to play fullback, he should have competition from Brock Lampe, an undrafted rookie who suffered a season-ending injury last summer and never played a down. Westover might also compete for the team’s No. 3 tight end job.
The Patriots are expect to continue be seeking tight ends in free agency and the draft.
Reports: Pats release LB Jahlani Tavai
11:10 a.m. In a cap-saving move, the Pats released veteran linebacker Jahlani Tavai shortly before the start of free agency Monday. His release will create roughly $1.7 million in room.
Tavai, one of the team’s longest-tenured players, only played 22.4% of defensive snaps last year in a reserve role. He was also a key cog on special teams. Tavai’s release is part of an expected overhaul at linebacker behind starters Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss. Last year, Tavai, who doesn’t fit the physical prototypes a Mike Vrabel defense seeks in the position, was one of the few holdovers to make the roster from the Belichick and Mayo regimes.
5 a.m. Free agency will officially open at noon with the start of the league’s “legal tampering period,” when teams are permitted to negotiate with free agents.
The Patriots are interested in the best free-agent receiver available, Alec Pierce, with A.J. Brown trade talks reportedly at a standstill. Expect the Pats to also dive into the edge defender market, where their best free agent, K’Lavon Chaisson, could leave for a major deal. Veteran safety Jaylinn Hawkins, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga and tight end Austin Hooper are the other top internal free agents to know.
