The New England Patriots are reportedly releasing one of their former third-round picks and the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers should have interest.
According to ESPN's Mike Reiss, the Patriots have informed linebacker and special teams contributor Marte Mapu that he is being released.
"The Patriots have informed LB/personal protector Marte Mapu that they intend to release him, per sources. Mapu, a third-round pick in 2023, has appeared in 44 NFL games (10 starts). Enters last year of his contract in 2026 and is due a base salary of $1.508 million," Reiss reported.
The Patriots have not yet made the move official, but it should come down soon.
Mapu's disappointing Patriots tenure
Patriots Marte Mapu - Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
It's safe to say that the Patriots expected to get more out of a third-round pick than they ultimately got out of Mapu, who was safety/linebacker hybrid but moved to linebacker full time in 2025.
The 26-year-old played just 18% of defensive snaps in his rookie season before seeing a bigger role at safety in 2024, when he totaled 72% of the snaps. However, clearly he wasn't good enough in that role and was relegated back to a reserve role on defense in 2025.
Last season, Mapu contributed on all four special teams units, including as a punt protector. Head coach Mike Vrabel has traditionally been big on keeping valuable special teams guys like Mapu around, but not in this instance.
Why Packers, Giants should have interest
Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
If there's any head coach in the NFL who understands how important a good special teams unit is, it's Giants head coach John Harbaugh, a former special teams coordinator.
The Giants could also use more depth options at linebacker. New York has a shaky starting option in Micah McFadden, who is coming off a significant injury, and Big Blue needs more competition for backup roles in general.
Meanwhile, in Green Bay, the Packers have routinely fallen short of adequate on special teams in recent years, so it certainly wouldn't hurt to add a specialist like Mapu, who could provide an upgrade in more ways than one.
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