The Patriots have reached an agreement to keep the edge linebacker around on a new three-year deal.
The New England Patriots started Wednesday with a bang. Edge linebacker Anfernee Jennings, one of the most prominent names on the team’s list of free agents, will stay put on a new three-year deal with a base value of $12 million.
The extension will keep Jennings from the open market, and simultaneously reduces the number of free agents to seven. What else does the move mean for the Patriots, though? Let’s find out.
The Patriots’ edge group will stay (mostly) intact
Heading into the offseason, the Patriots had only two pure edge defenders under contract for 2024: Pro Bowler Matthew Judon and practice squad member William Bradley-King. Anfernee Jennings and Josh Uche, meanwhile, were both headed for unrestricted free agency for the first time in their respective careers.
Before the official opening of the market on Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET, New England has now locked up both Jennings and Uche. This significantly improves the quality and depth at the position, and allows it to stay intact — mostly.
While Jennings and company are pure edge defenders who rarely line up elsewhere in the front seven, the team also received contributions from versatile linebackers Jahlani Tavai and Mack Wilson. While the former is signed for the upcoming season, the latter has since departed via a three-year contract offer from the Arizona Cardinals.
Consequently, keeping Jennings and Uche in the fold was even more important for the team and its edge position.
New England’s run defense retains a valuable contributor…
Run defense is an unglamorous job in the pass-centric NFL of the 2020s. That said, it is still an important part of the game and one Jennings excels in.
Primarily an early-down defender, the 26-year-old played 344 run game snaps for a share of 50.8 percent of his total workload. He registered 53 run game tackles and a forced fumble in that capacity, and furthermore had 13 tackles for loss. That was not just the highest number on the team versus the run, but tying the league lead together with Cleveland’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and New York’s Quincy Williams.
With Josh Uche a pass rush specialist and Matthew Judon coming off season-ending injury, and with defensive tackle Lawrence Guy released, Jennings’ return is a boost to the Patriots run defense.
…and experienced special teams presence
Besides his defensive contributions, Jennings also is heavily involved in the kicking game. Even though his snap number decreased from 36.1 to 20.3 percent over the last two years, he still saw action on four units and was a regular on the kickoff return and the field goal/extra point blocking squads in 2023.
With the Patriots’ special teams unit in the midst of a transformation process, having an experienced player like him gives the club and new coordinator Jeremy Springer some options.
Incentive-laden deals keep getting handed out
The reported base value of Jennings’ new contract is $12 million over a three-year period. However, the fifth-year man can double that through several incentives embedded into the contract.
The Patriots giving out incentive-heavy deals is nothing new this offseason. Fellow edge Josh Uche, for example, can boost his $3 million base deal to a maximum value of $8 million through playing time and production incentives.
Four members of the 2020 draft class will be in the fold for 2024
With Jennings brought back, the Patriots have now retained four members of their 2020 draft class this offseason. Both he and sixth-round offensive lineman Michael Onwenu signed three-year deals to stay put, with second-round pick Josh Uche’s aforementioned one-year pact also keeping him around for the upcoming season.
In addition, fellow second-round selection Kyle Dugger was assigned the transition tag. The goal of the $13.82 million one-year deal is to serve as the basis for a long-term extension.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login