The New England Patriots‘ offseason hasn’t exactly been drama-free, but this team is entering the new campaign with high hopes, and it’s not too hard to see why. After making a surprise run to the Super Bowl last year, the Pats’ front office made an effort to address several of its top weak spots, with the hope being the team can prove last year’s run wasn’t a fluke.
Entering training camp, New England had accomplished several of its offseason goals, but it still had some business to take care of. One item on the to-do list involved figuring out what was going on with rookie linebacker Gabe Jacas, who still had yet to sign his contract with the team. After weeks of speculation, the Patriots made an announcement regarding Jacas’ status on Sunday morning.
Gabe Jacas Officially Signs Rookie Contract with Patriots
New England traded up in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft to select Jacas with the No. 55 overall pick. After spending four years with the Illinois Fighting Illini, Jacas had turned himself into one of the most disruptive defenders in the nation, racking up 43 tackles and 11 sacks in the 2025 campaign.
Throughout the offseason, though, Jacas’ status was shrouded in mystery. He barely participated in the team’s offseason program and reportedly underwent a procedure to clean up a knee injury. Beyond that, he still hadn’t put pen to paper on his rookie contract, which only added to the concern that some issues were popping up behind the scenes.
With Jacas not present for the team’s first day of practice at training camp, the alarm bells quickly started ringing, but reports indicated that he was planning on finally signing his first pro contract in the near future. Sure enough, that’s exactly what happened, as the team shared a photo of Jacas signing his deal on social media.
“Patriots sign second-round pick Gabe Jacas,” the team announced in a post on X.
Patriots Can Finally Put the Gabe Jacas Saga Behind Them
GettySEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 25: Gabe Jacas #17 of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on before the game against the Washington Huskies at Husky Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
For the most part, rookie contracts are pretty straightforward in the NFL, so anytime there’s a delay, there’s going to be cause for concern. Whether Jacas was unhappy with some sort of financial language in his deal or he was simply recovering from his offseason surgery is unknown, but all that matters now is that he is in town and will seemingly be taking the field alongside his new teammates in the future.
While this is a key piece of business that can be put in the rearview mirror now, the Pats aren’t done just yet. They still need to take care of star cornerback Christian Gonzalez’s contract situation, with team owner Robert Kraft coming out and saying the two sides are working through a new deal. Ideally, that deal would get done sooner rather than later, but for now, New England will relish the fact that it has managed to officially get Jacas’ contract taken care of.
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