What signing Jaylinn Hawkins in free agency means for the Patriots

The former fourth-round draft pick was signed on a one-year contract.

Four days after adding wide receiver K.J. Osborn, the New England Patriots have made another signing in free agency. Their latest addition is safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who will arrive via a reported one-year contract.

A former fourth-round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons, Hawkins spent the second half of the 2023 season with the Los Angeles Chargers. Now, the 26-year-old is taking his talents to New England.

Let’s assess what this means for the Patriots.

The Patriots add an experienced free safety to the mix

When Devin McCourty announced his retirement last offseason, the Patriots were forced to adjust how they used the safeties they had available. While neither Kyle Dugger nor Jabrill Peppers are prototypical centerfielders, the duo shared reps in that role in hopes of replacing the long-time team captain.

The results were not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but this usage also forced Dugger and Peppers to play out of their comfort zones on a regular basis. Adding a free safety-type player — one with more experience in that role than, for example, Marte Mapu or Joshuah Bledsoe — therefore was a move that would have made plenty of sense for New England in hopes of taking pressure off the two starters.

Enter Jaylinn Hawkins, who brings starting pedigree as a free safety to the table.

While he has seen snaps all over the secondary during his four-year career in the NFL, a significant portion of his action came from a free safety alignment. According to Pro Football Focus, he lined up at the position for 56.5 percent of his defensive career snaps since 2020.

Hawkins had his ups and downs in an extended role, and saw his defensive playing time decrease drastically under a new defensive coordinator in 2023 — to a point where he Falcons decided to waive him. However, he also brings an interesting skillset and plenty of experience to the table.

Hawkins’ presence bolsters the special teams group

While Hawkins’ defensive playing time fluctuated throughout his four seasons in the NFL, he usually saw plenty of special teams reps. A look at his 2023 usage shows this: he was a five-unit special teamer for the Falcons before his surprise release in mid-October, and also was given opportunities on up to four units after being claimed off waivers by the Chargers.

How big of a special teams role the Patriots have in mind for him remains to be seen. His experience and productivity in the game’s third phase, however, gives New England another chess piece to use in their new-look kicking game operation: with seven of their 10 most-used special teams players from a year ago either currently unsigned or out of the picture altogether, there is opportunity aplenty for Hawkins to carve out a role.

New England’s salary cap is unlikely to take a big hit

The full details of Hawkins’ deal with the Patriots are not yet available, but the fact is that his presence should not put too much of a dent in the team’s financial potency. Entering the day with $49.94 million in salary cap space, per Miguel Benzan’s calculations, they will remain among the league leaders in that category.

So, what can be expected of Hawkins’ contract? We do know that it will qualify for the veteran salary benefit, which means that there is a potential blueprint on the New England roster already: wide receiver Jalen Reagor’s one-year deal also fell into that category, allowing his cap number to stand at $1.15 million versus a $1.29 million compensation.

Hawkins signing a contract of a similar structure would make sense. Regardless, the expectation is that his cap number will have a comparatively minimal impact on New England’s books — even though it will be high enough to push another player from the Top-51 list, thus decreasing the Patriots’ cap space nonetheless.