It’s been a busy offseason for the New England Patriots, one that isn’t over as A.J. Brown rumors still persist. A little lost in the shuffle was the move to add edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones, largely as a replacement for K’Lavon Chaisson, who walked in free agency.
Jones split his time in 2025 with the Tennessee Titans and later the Baltimore Ravens. Between those two stops, he had 7.0 sacks and 43 total tackles, which is 0.5 sacks less than Chaisson had in 2025. Meanwhile, Chaisson is on a one-year deal for 2026, with an $11.47 million cap hit, while Jones is on a three-year deal that is only a $7.5 million cap hit in 2026, before jumping to $14.73 million in the next two seasons.
There’s an argument to make either way for Chaisson or Jones. However, ESPN insider Bill Barnwell recently called swapping one out for another the worst move the Patriots made all offseason.
“Though Chaisson did get that raise, it was only to $11.5 million on a one-year deal with the Commanders. I would have liked to have seen the Patriots top that offer. Instead, they gave Jones $14.5 million in the first season of a three-year, $36.5 million pact. Jones is a good pass rusher and a solid player, and the Pats were able to get a two-year commitment, but he’s also three years older than Chaisson and a more inconsistent run defender,” Barnwell wrote.
“There’s never any room for sentiment in New England, but it would have been nice to see the Patriots reward one of their developmental success stories from 2025, and there’s a chance Chaisson’s upward trajectory still had some room for growth.”
The New England Patriots Have Been Focused on Their Pass Rush
GettyNew England Patriots draft pick Gabe Jacas
There has been a clear push by the New England Patriots to address their pass rush this offseason. This came after it suffered from inconsistency a season ago.
In 2025, the Patriots managed 35 sacks. That was good for a tie for 22nd in the NFL. It was also 12 sacks fewer than the Super Bowl Champion, Seattle Seahawks, and almost half of the number of sacks (68) that the AFC runner-up, Denver Broncos, had.
Part of that was due to injuries. In particular, Harold Landry missed a good amount of time or was playing through pain, which kept his pass rushing numbers down. Another notable injury on the defense came to linebacker Robert Spillane, again costing him valuable time. On top of that, Milton Williams spent time on IR.
Still, there has been an effort to add more talent too. Dre’Mont Jones is certainly included in that. Then, second-round pick Gabe Jacas is expected to quickly make his presence felt as a pass rusher.
Dre’Mont Jones Reflected on Playing New England Patriots QB Drake Maye
GettyNew England Patriots free agent signing Dre’Mont Jones reflected on competing against Drake Maye during the 2025 season.
Now on the same team, a season ago, Dre’Mont Jones had two opportunities to compete against the New England Patriots. That, in turn, gave him a very close look at quarterback Drake Maye.
Since joining the Patriots, Jones took some time to praise Maye. In particular, he looked back on the game against the Ravens a season ago and what Maye was able to do.
“I’m not gonna give any ammo to get in Drake’s head. I mean, Drake is a hell of a quarterback,” Jones said. “He gave us a lot of problems. The memory that burns in my head is when he had him on 4th and 3 and he threw that out route when I was in Baltimore. I thought we had him stopped to ice the game, but that memory is burned in my head about Drake. That just lets you know how talented of a quarterback he is.”
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