With the new year has come many changes in New England in 2025. Head coach Mike Vrabel and his new coaching staff are implementing a new culture and new playing styles for the Patriots with the hopes of turning the team around.
The Patriots finished up mandatory minicamp this week, and with it came players that rose and fell their stocks for 2025. Brian Hines of Pats Pulpit recently revealed his projection for the Patriots' 53-man roster.
However, one of the players he had missing the cut might be a surprise to many fans. Veteran edge rusher Anfernee Jennings was left off the list.
Jennings has been a reliable starter for the Patriots for the last two seasons, and has been in New England since the team drafted him in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Alabama.
Hines' noted Jennings' lack of pass rush ability as the main factor for missing the 53-man roster. In the four seasons Jennings has been healthy, he's combined for just 5.5 sacks.
The Alabama product is a stout run defender collecting 144 tackles and 21 TFLs over the last two seasons, but the Patriots made an emphasis this offseason on trying to bolster their pass rush.
Jennings showed glimpses of a successful pass rush in his final year at Alabama collecting eight sacks, but the production has not transferred to the professional level.
Meanwhile, with the additions in free agency and strong OTAs and minicamps from other players at the position, Jennings' time with the Patriots may be coming to an end.
"Keion White, Harold Landry, and K'Lavon Chaisson serving as New England's top three edge rushers has been a staple throughout the spring," Hines wrote. "They have all looked disruptive throughout the spring as well, while the hope is rookie Bradyn Swinson adds his name into the rotation when the pads come on.
"Anfernee Jennings is a tough cut, but the disruptive run defender appears on the outside looking in in a new defensive structure."
Landry had a strong minicamp, and Chaisson and White have each been complimented by their coaches throughout the offseason. It looks like the Patriots have found their new trio of edge rushers, and Jennings may be the lone man out.