Mandatory Minicamp is underway for the New England Patriots. However, second-round pick Gabe Jacas is still not present at the team’s facilities.
On Tuesday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel explained that the absence comes down to an injury that Jacas has been dealing with, which required a procedure. To add to that, Jacas is not yet signed. However, Vrabel did not add further details as to why Jacas is not currently with the team.
“He’s not here and he’s not under contract at this current time,” Vrabel was quoted as saying.
The Patriots selected Jacas with their second-round pick, which was the 55th overall selection in the 2026 NFL Draft. New England needed to trade up in the second round to land Jacas. He had played his college football at Illinois, where he was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection in 2025. That was on the back of an 11.0 sack season.
Every other rookie has signed their first contract with the Patriots. Vrabel would also note that everyone else is currently attending Mandatory Minicamp.
Gabe Jacas is the Last New England Patriots Rookie to be Unsigned
GettyNew England Patriots draft pick Gabe Jacas
The New England Patriots announced that they had come to terms with first-round pick Caleb Lomu on Monday. It was a four-year, $18.922 million deal.
Now, the only player from the Patriots’ rookie class left to sign is Jacas. This comes a year after 2025 second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson didn’t sign his own contract until July 19th. When Henderson did sign, it was for a fully guaranteed deal. It’s likely that Jacas wants a similar contract that is fully guaranteed.
Jacas missing out on Mandatory Minicamp isn’t necessarily a change in his status. He had also been away from the Patriots during OTAs, which are voluntary. Despite that, ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted the absence was not due to his contract.
“I’d be surprised if it was the contract… I was told by someone that I feel like would have the information that he should be back soon… I don’t sense this is any major alarm,” Reiss previously said.
The Patriots Need Jacas for the 2026 Season
GettyFormer Illinois edge rusher Gabe Jacas.
One major concern for the Patriots to address this offseason was edge rusher. This comes a year after New England finished in a tie for 22nd in sacks out of 32 NFL teams. That was with 35 sacks on the season. It was 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.
On top of that, the Patriots lost K’Lavon Chaisson in free agency. A season ago, he was second on the team in sacks. Because of that, Gabe Jacas was projected at one point this offseason as a starter on New England’s defense.
The longer Jacas is away from the team, the harder it’s going to be for him to slot into the defense early in the year. Consider Shemar Stewart, who held out from the Cincinnati Bengals a season ago before signing his rookie deal, and never got on track in his first NFL season. So, the Patriots will want to figure this out sooner rather than later.
The question of Jacas’ injury is also going to hang over the Patriots. The exact nature of the procedure is still unknown, though, so it’s hard to draw any conclusions there.
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