The New England Patriots are having a busy day. Besides signing edge defender Dre’Mont Jones and fullback Reggie Gilliam shortly after the start of the NFL legal tampering period, they also released linebacker Jahlani Tavai and lost offensive tackle Vederian Lowe to the 49ers, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga to the Chiefs and tight end Austin Hooper to the Falcons in free agency.
We are analyzing the two signings more in-depth here and here, respectively. For the others, let’s break down what they
mean from a big-picture Patriots perspective.
OT Vederian Lowe: Signed by 49ers
New backup LT needed: When Will Campbell went down with an MCL injury last November, the Patriots turned to Lowe to step in at left tackle. He did a solid job, which in turn set him up to now take his talents to San Francisco. For his ex-club, meanwhile, “finding a new backup left tackle” needs to be added to the to-do list this offseason.
At the moment, the depth chart at OT looks as follows:
90-man roster (5): Will Campbell (66 | LT), Morgan Moses (76 | RT), Marcus Bryant (52), Sebastian Gutierrez (—), Lorenz Metz (72 | international exemption)
Unrestricted free agency (1): Thayer Munford Jr.
Restricted free agency (1): Yasir Durant
Marcus Bryant currently projects as the third tackle, but the 2025 seventh-round draft pick has yet to prove himself capable of filling the swing tackle role; he primarily was used as a backup at right tackle before finishing his rookie campaign with a string of healthy scratches.
Need unchanged: Even if Lowe had returned to the Patriots, which was considered the unlikely outcome to begin with, the team would have had a need at offensive tackle. Right-side starter Morgan Moses turned 35 earlier this month, and his future beyond the upcoming season is unclear even though he is signed through 2027. Finding a suitable successor has to be high on the club’s priorities list, and that is true independently of what happened with Lowe.
DT Khyiris Tonga: Signed by Chiefs
DT depth under pressure: The Patriots rebuilt their interior defensive line last offseason, and they will have to make more moves again this year. Tonga, after all, served as the top nose tackle and a rotational No. 3 at the position last season; on average, he played roughly 39% of defensive snaps in the 17 regular season and playoff games he appeared in. With him now added out the door, New England will need to find somebody else to fill that role.
At the moment, they have the following options available:
90-man roster (7): Milton Williams (97), Christian Barmore (90), Cory Durden (94), Joshua Farmer (92), Leonard Taylor III (93), Eric Gregory (55), Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (98)
Restricted free agency (1): DT Jaquelin Roy
Exclusive rights free agency (1): DT Isaiah Iton
In 2025, the Patriots used Cory Durden and to a lesser degree Leonard Taylor and Eric Gregory to replace Tonga when he was absent. They all project to factor into the mix again this year, as does sophomore Joshua Farmer.
Run defense TBD: Even though Tonga finished last season with the highest pass rush snap rate of his career (52%) and registered a combined 17 quarterback pressures, he was a pivotal part of New England’s early-down and short-yardage defense. As such, he was particularly valuable defending the run up the gut and helping free things up for his teammates at defensive tackle or at the linebacker position.
More fullback news: Tonga’s work as a fullback in 2025 made headlines, which means that him leaving for the Chiefs is the third fullback-related news for the Patriots on Monday. They previously signed the aforementioned Reggie Gilliam and also tendered exclusive rights free agent Jack Westover, lessening the blow of losing of losing Tonga, at least at that particular spot in the lineup.
Culture loss: The Patriots signed Tonga last offseason not just with his abilities as a big-bodied run-stuffer in mind, but also because he fit the culture aspect they were looking for. While not voted a team captain like fellow free agency pickups Harold Landry or Robert Spillane, his upbeat persona helped keep things light in the locker room.
TE Austin Hooper: Signed by Falcons
Expected move: Even though he had served as the Patriots’ No. 2 tight end behind Hunter Henry each of the last two seasons, the writing was on the wall for Hooper. With the team intent on getting younger at the position and potentially getting more receiving production out of its complementary pieces, there was no longer a spot for him in New England.
New TE2: With Hooper headed back to Atlanta, where he started his NFL career back in 2016, the Patriots currently have three tight ends signed for the upcoming season:
90-man roster (3): Hunter Henry (85), C.J. Dippre (82), Marshall Lang (84)
Even though the aforementioned Jack Westover could provide an extra layer of depth — he only moved from tight end to fullback last summer — the overall group beyond Hunter Henry is unproven. It seems like a foregone conclusion that the Patriots will add at least one more player to the mix either in free agency or through the draft.
LB Jahlani Tavai: Released
End of an era: One of the longest-tenured players on the Patriots roster, and tops among all of the team’s current linebackers in that category, Tavai has been with the club since the 2021 season. Having appeared in 80 combined regular season and playoff games for the team, he registered 350 total tackles and registered three interceptions and forced fumbles each. He also experienced the tail-end of the Bill Belichick era, Jerod Mayo’s short-lived tenure as head coach, and the first year of the Mike Vrabel rebuild.
Linebacker shakeup: The Patriots entered the week with seven linebackers under contract, including Tavai. That numbers has now obviously been reduced by one.
90-man roster (6): Robert Spillane (14), Christian Elliss (53), Marte Mapu (15), Chad Muma (49), Otis Reese (54), Amari Gainer (99)
Restricted free agency (1): Jack Gibbens
Even though they played different roles on defense, Tavai’s departure might be the catalyst for the Patriots to bring Jack Gibbens back into the mix. At the moment, after all, the depth behind top duo Robert Spillane and Christian Elliss consists mostly of special teamers.
Multi-faceted departure: While listed as a linebacker on the Patriots’ roster, Tavai’s role was more diverse than that individual label would suggest. He provided depth both on and off the ball, splitting his defensive reps almost 50-50 between classic linebacker alignments and playing on the edge. In addition, he served as a core four special teams player and finished the 2025 season ranked fifth on the team with 301 kicking game snaps. Long story short, he wore a lot of hats and was a valuable if under-the-radar piece for New England.
More cap space cleared: The Patriots made several cap-saving moves leading up to free agency, and Tavai’s is the latest to fall in that category. His release creates $1.33 million in net cap space for the Patriots this season, as well as $5.32 million next season. While those savings are not massive overall, they do add up and allowed the Patriots to climb into the legal tampering window with upward of $62 million in available cap space.
