Harold Landry was one of the New England Patriots’ biggest free agency signings of 2025, but a nagging knee injury limited his impact down the stretch. Heading into his second season with the organization, however, there is optimism about his outlook.
Landry has been a regular at the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium facility over recent weeks, and his head coach feels strongly about his ability to return to form.
“Harold continues to rehab,” Mike Vrabel recently said about Landry. “I’m just disappointed,
obviously, for him and for us because I’ve known Harold for quite a while. A player I became really close with. We drafted him in Tennessee. He did a great job for us there. It’s unfortunate. I think that anybody that watched the tape could see Harold before hurting his knee and then after.
“Another player that cares deeply about the team, and his performance, and the impact that he makes. And so, I was disappointed for him, but he, like everything else, works his tail off right now to get back. I don’t really know where it’s at right now because he’s going through the rehab process.”
A longtime member of the Titans, Landry joined the Patriots on a three-year, $43.5 million contract last March. He accumulated well to his new surroundings, entering the starting lineup seemingly on arrival and later also getting voted a team captain.
However, his production dropped off after he hurt his knee. After playing 78.7% of defensive snaps over the first half of the season and registering 6.5 sacks along the way, he was limited to 33.8% and 2.0 quarterback takedowns after popping up on the injury report in Week 12.
With Landry limited, K’Lavon Chaisson and Anfernee Jennings became the two most-used edges. Both have since left the team, with Chaisson signing a free agency pact with the Commanders and Jennings getting cut.
The Patriots are hopeful that Landry’s return to full health as well as the signing of fellow edge Dre’Mont Jones will help soften the blow of those departures. Nonetheless, they are prepared to further invest in the position group.
“We’ll continue to strengthen each and every position, whether that’s the interior of the defensive line, that’s the edge, inside linebacker,” Vrabel explained. “I like the guys that we have, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t continue to try to add to that position.”
