The [New England Patriots](https://nesn.com/new-england-patriots) have plenty of positions to address during free agency and only so much time to do it...
If the club intends on putting itself in a position to regularly contend, it will have to put together another near-flawless offseason as it brings aboard pass-rushers, wide receivers, offensive linemen, linebackers, and tight ends -- a group that reportedly now includes linebacker K.J. Britt.
Let's take a look at the newest tenant at One Patriot Place!
Bio:
----
**K.J. Britt**
_**Position:** LB
**Height:** 6’
**Weight:** 240lbs
**2026 Age:** 27 (June 4, 1999)
**2025:** 17 G, 35 TKL, 1 QB HIT_
The Patriots signed K.J. Britt because:
---------------------------------------
... it's good to have as many bodies as possible on defense.
Jahlani Tavai, Anfernee Jennings, and Jack Gibbens have been removed from the tentative depth chart -- the former two reportedly were released from their contracts this week, while the latter's future with the franchise is still up in the air as there hasn't been any news of him being tendered a contract as of this article's publication.
Britt's arrival helps offset those losses as the bulk of his value comes on special teams, where he played a higher percentage of snaps last season (77%) than Tavai (71%), Jennings (45%), and Gibbens (64%). It's not like he'll be a one-for-one replacement -- those guys accounted for 661 total snaps to his 334 -- but it does start to fill in the gaps of the two who are officially gone...
Britt won't eat into playing time for Robert Spillane or Christian Elliss, but what he can do is fill in sparingly (16 career starts) while providing value in the third phase -- with the organization's end goal being that it can replace him on the depth chart with someone else sooner rather than later.
I would call him a placeholder, but that would be rude.
The Patriots' next move should be:
----------------------------------
... continue doing the same thing in the front-seven.
New England has curiously eaten away at its own depth throughout the first few days of free agency, so it's time to turn things back in the other direction and keep adding players to the front-seven -- though the options are dwindling with Wednesday's reported signings of Trey Hendrickson (Baltimore Ravens) and K'Lavon Chaisson (Washington Commanders).
Cam Jordan, Joey Bosa, Bradley Chubb, AJ Epenesa, Arnold Ebiketie, Al-Quadin Muhammad, and Kyle Van Noy are still available on the open market. Maxx Crosby and Jonathan Greenard have been reported to be available via trade. It's time to get moving if they want to improve on the edge, because thus far, they've gotten worse.
**_More NFL: [Patriots Offseason Preview: Everything Team Must Address In 2026](https://nesn.com/new-england-patriots/news/patriots-offseason-preview-everything-team-must-address-2026/aaf2d2af915aac61a95dded5)_**