It was a busy week for the New England Patriots coaching staff and front office as the NFL’s new league year began. With the goal of remodeling their roster this offseason, New England got to work in free agency agreeing to terms with eight external free agents while watching the majority of their in-house free agents sign elsewhere.
With plenty of roster movement throughout the week, let’s clean out the notebook from the opening days of free agency. Welcome to this week’s edition of our Sunday Patriots
Notes.
Maye’s attraction
In a late December game under the primetime lights in Baltimore, Drake Maye and the Patriots faced a double-digit deficit with just under 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Maye never flinched.
The 23-year old quarterback led back-to-back touchdown drives — the second traveling 89 yards — to secure a 28-24 victory over the Ravens.
It was Maye’s first-career fourth quarter comeback win, and it left an impression on Ravens pass rusher Dre’Mont Jones, who played 51 snap that Sunday night.
“He was resilient,” Jones said. “To be honest, from what I remember, we were up like [11] in the fourth quarter and I had sacked him and thought he was going to get in his head, but he turned that thing around. He made a critical throw on I think it was fourth-down to Diggs on the out route. I remember saying, ‘That’s a hell of a throw,’ because he just fit it in the window. It could have been picked off if our DB at the time was a little bit faster. It was great coverage, too. That game really showed how he doesn’t get rattled in big moments like that because that was a big game.”
Months later, Jones is now teammates with Maye after signing a three-year, $39 million contract with the Patriots in free agency. He’s not the only free agent addition that is excited to now call Maye a teammate.
“Look at Drake’s play style. I think he’s the type of guy who doesn’t get down on himself. He makes a bad play and comes out and balls out the next series. I think that’s very important in this league. You’ve got to have a short memory when you make a bad play,” guard Alijah Vera-Tucker said.
“But not even just the player from Drake Maye — the person. I’ve heard so many things through friends and my agency who represent him, nothing but great things. So if I come and protect a guy like that, it’s worth it.”
The 2025 season was a special one for Maye. Beyond leading the Patriots to Super Bowl LX, he finished second in MVP voting and earned second-team All-Pro honors as he led the NFL in completion percentage (72.0), yards per attempt (8.9), and passer rating (113.5), among many other metrics.
Players around the league took notice.
“I think the hardest thing that you can get in this league is the good quarterback situation,” long-time veteran safety Kevin Byard said. “I think New England definitely has that with a MVP runner-up in his second year. I think Drake Maye is a phenomenal player. I’ve heard great things from multiple people.”
As New England’s free agents arrived at Gillette Stadium on Thursday to sign their contracts, Maye was there to meet them. The quarterbacks new target, Romeo Doubs, said he loved his personality. Fullback Reggie Gilliam was surprised to see Maye sporting a beard.
Gilliam was also surprised by Maye’s size — even after spending the start of his career with Josh Allen in Buffalo.
“Saw him for the first time and was like wow he’s bigger than I expected. I did not expect him to be that large,” Gilliam said. “He has a lot of the same qualities as Josh. I know he was in the MVP talks just like Josh was. I believe in him a ton and I’m excited to see what he can do.”
After back-to-back four win seasons, New England was no longer a priority destination for free agents. That especially rang true at wide receiver. Now, however, Maye, in addition to head coach Mike Vrabel, has helped put the team back on the map.
“Every free agent kind of says the same thing: Want to play for Vrabel. Want to play with Drake. I mean, it’s pretty cool,” Patriots Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf said.
Big Harold
An interior defensive lineman in college, Dre’Mont Jones made the switch to the edge during his football career. Part of that process included cutting weight which led to Jones playing around 265 pounds the past few years (not the listed 280 lbs.).
“It’s hard, not too many guys I’ve ever heard go from d-tackle to outside linebacker,” Jones said. “There was definitely some fear into that because I’m in a whole different realm, I’m rushing in a different area when I first started off. Once I started playing I ended up getting better and I knew I had to find ways to elevate more… I knew cutting some weight would help me grow my game. Last year, it showed a lot.”
Spending the start of the 2025 season in Tennessee, Jones went on to earn the nickname “Big Harold” due to his resemblance to now-new teammate Harold Landry.
Family reunion
All-Pro safety Kevin Byard played six season under Mike Vrabel during the head coach’s time in Tennessee. That also included overlapping with several other coaches now on New England’s staff and former teammates, such as captain Harold Landry.
Reuniting with Vrabel was one of Byard’s top-two options in free agency, and the safety said coming to Gillette Stadium on Thursday felt like a family reunion with all of the familiar faces. Those faces were quite pleased as well.
“I mean, ecstatic would be an understatement when we were able to to agree to terms with him,” Wolf said of the coaches reaction to signing Byard.
Memorable moment
As a member of the Buffalo Bills, Reggie Gilliam stood in the middle of the Gillette Stadium field as he prepared for a kick return last December. He looked up at the video board to see famous musician Travis Scott hyping up the crowd as New England had gotten out to a large lead. The Patriots sideline was also having fun in the moment.
Even with Gilliam’s Bills making a big second-half comeback to walk out of Gillette with a win, that moment stuck with the 28-year old. The fullback is now excited to be apart of that group.
Fullbacks
Signing in New England, Gilliam was well aware of the history offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has with fullbacks. Gilliam has already been able to talk to McDaniels about the role, and while he profiles as a different mold then some of the offense coordinator’s old bulldozers, the free agent believes he’s the perfect fit in the offense.
“He’s had a history with fullbacks and he loves a true, vicious style player,” Gilliam said. “The physicality has been being preached ever since I walked into this building. So I’m excited for it.”
Among those former fullbacks is James Develin, someone Gilliam has become friends with over the years as Develin is now a member of the NFLPA. They are now part of a recently started group chat that features 30 current and former fullbacks.
More to give?
After Julian Hill was not tendered by the Dolphins, the Patriots made a somewhat surprising investment in the 26-year old tight end signing him to a three-year deal worth up to $18 million. Hill is known best for his work in the run game — an area the Patriots intentionally tried to improve this offseason with other additions like guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and fullback Reggie Gilliam.
Despite having just 33 career receptions over his three year career as 66 percent of his snaps have come in blocking situations, Hill could have more to give as a pass catcher going forward.
“Julian is is a guy that obviously we’ve played against,” Wolf said. “Has really kind of improved each year that he’s been in it. And you know, we think there’s probably still some meat on the bone in the passing game as well for him, but certainly a physical tough guy at the point of attack.”
Gonzo’s deal
As the new league year began Wednesday, the Patriots are now eligible to sign star cornerback Christian Gonzalez to what is expected to be a historic contract extension. That still appears to be in their plans.
“I mean it’s no secret we’d like to keep Christian Gonzalez,” Wolf said. “I don’t know what the timing of that is but that’s something that certainly we’re preparing for.”
The price may only increase the longer New England waits. Before Gonzalez was eligible for an extension this offseason, Trent McDuffie already set new records at the position after being traded to the Rams. His four-year, $124 million deal featured new highs in average per-year ($31 million) and guarantees ($100 million) for a cornerback. Seattle is also now eligible to extend cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who will likely again reset the market himself.
Setting up the week ahead
The Patriots will continue to tinker with their roster now that the new league year has opened. Where things currently stand, the Patriots 90-man roster sits at 70 players. Currently with 11 draft picks, most, but likely not all, of those spots are expected to be filled in April.
Speaking of the NFL Draft, the primary work will transition back to college prospects after spending last week focused on free agency. New England will continue hosting potential draft selections on 30 visits at Gillette Stadium and the Pro Days will continue around the country.
