The 2025 NFL league year was a successful one for the Patriots. On Wednesday afternoon, it will officially come to an end.
While the season runs from September to early February, the league year extends beyond those dates and traditionally starts in mid-March. Today is that day: the calendars are being flipped to 2026.
The new league year will officially begin at 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 11. At that point, free agency and the trading window begin while teams need to be under the salary cap.
What does all of that mean for the New England Patriots, though? Let’s find out.
Where can I find Patriots news and rumors?
Our 2026 Patriots free agency tracker will be updated regularly and can be seen as your hub for all things New England free agency. Not only do we have all the latest news and rumors in there, but also links to dozens of follow-up articles dissecting every move, player, and contract.
In addition, we also encourage you to visit our up-to-date Patriots roster for an updated look at New England’s depth chart as well as the team’s list of free agents.
What is free agency?
Explained in the most basic of terms, free agency is the signing period for players who are without an NFL contract. There are several categories of free agents depending on their previous experience in the league and the deals they last signed, but basically speaking there is a distinction between unrestricted, restricted, and exclusive rights free agents.
Theoretically, all of them remain under contract until the clock strikes 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday. However, the UFAs were already allowed to speak to teams during the so-called legal tampering period that opened on Monday at noon. That said, they are not allowed to officially sign anything until the official start of free agency.
Not every free agency necessarily has to make it to free agency, though. Between contract extensions, restricted and exclusive rights tenders or the franchise and transition tags, organizations have tools at their disposal to prevent their talent from entering the market.
As far as the RFAs and ERFAs are concerned, they were not subject to legal tampering. Any of them who have not received appropriate tenders by their previous clubs at 4 p.m. on Wednesday will also be free to negotiate and sign with any club.
Which Patriots are free agents?
The Patriots entered the offseason with 14 players headed for free agency. After a series of transactions both internally and externally, that number is now down to five:
RB Deneric Prince (ERFA): Profile
OT Thayer Munford Jr. (UFA): Profile
DT Jaquelin Roy (RFA): Profile
LB Jack Gibbens (RFA): Profile
S Jaylinn Hawkins (UFA): Profile
As soon as the clock strikes 4 p.m. ET on Wednesday, all of them will be on the market and free to sign (or re-sign) with any of the teams in the league.
What are compensatory picks?
While there are a few exceptions each year, a vast majority of unrestricted free agents is also eligible to factor into the NFL’s compensatory formula. In basic terms, if a team loses more and higher-value free agents than it signs it is entitled to draft pick compensation. Only 32 such selections are handed out each year, however, and no club can get awarded more than four in a single year.
The Patriots have received no such extra picks in each of the last three seasons, and it also seems unlikely they will get any for 2027.
The period for players to qualify for compensation runs through the Monday after the NFL draft, which is April 27 this year. From that point on, signings will no longer be factored into the NFL’s calculations.
Players who have been released by their respective teams or are entering free agency as restricted or exclusive rights free agents cannot become CFAs.
What is the salary cap?
The salary cap was first introduced in the mid-90s and stipulates how much money a team can spend in any given season. The number changes each year and is dependent on league revenue.
For the 2026 season, the salary cap has been set at $301.2 million per team, up from $279.2 million a year ago. The Patriots are currently projected to have between $30 and $50 million available, depending on two contracts that have not yet been factored into the calculations (WR Romeo Doubs, LB K.J. Britt).
What is the Top 51 rule?
Teams are allowed to carry up to 90 players non-exempt players on their active rosters, but not every one of their contract is directly counted against the salary cap. In fact, only the 51 biggest cap hits are; if a player from the top 51 gets removed either through release or trade, another moves up to take his place.
This Top 51 rule will remain in place until after roster cutdown day and shortly before the start of the 2026 regular season in September. At that point, all 53 active players plus additional expenses will hit the cap.
What is the NFL trading window?
Teams can talk and agree to trading players throughout the offseason, but those moves can not be made official until the start of the new league year. The Patriots have already been taking advantage of that, facilitating one trade earlier this month:
C Garrett Bradbury: Traded to Bears
The Patriots will reportedly get a fifth-round draft pick in 2027 back for the veteran center. The terms of the trade will not become official until after the new league year has begun, though.