The Patriots continue making changes as they head further into the offseason, and they made an interesting decision to part ways with another player on Monday.According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the New England Patriots intend to release linebacker Marte Mapu, which marks another name off the list of players from the 2025 AFC Championship team who won’t be back in 2026.Mapu played just 120 defensive snaps during the regular season in 2025, having spent the majority time on special teams. He played 255 special teams regular-season snaps last season, appearing primarily on the kickoff and kick return units, as well as on the punt and punt return team.In the playoffs, Mapu played just two snaps on defense, while playing 71 special teams snaps.He becomes yet another linebacker gone from last year’s group, joining Jahlani Tavai, K’Lavon Chaisson, Anfernee Jennings, and Jack Gibbons as players from that unit who will not be a part of things in 2026.It’s been a surprising offseason already for the Patriots, who didn’t re-sign a single unrestricted free agent, and just one of their 5 restricted free agents (QB Tommy DeVito), along with just one of their three exclusive rights free agents (TE/FB Jack Westover).Their one remaining unrestricted free agent, tackle Thayer Munford Jr., recently visited with the Titans but remains unsigned.
ð Questions Answered in This ArticleWho did the Patriots release recently?The New England Patriots intend to release linebacker Marte Mapu. This decision marks another player from the 2025 AFC Championship team who will not return for 2026.What was Marte Mapu's primary role with the Patriots?Marte Mapu spent the majority of his time on special teams. He played 255 special teams regular-season snaps in 2025, primarily on kickoff, kick return, punt, and punt return units, with limited defensive snaps.Which other linebackers have the Patriots parted ways with for the 2026 season?In addition to Marte Mapu, the Patriots have parted ways with Jahlani Tavai, K'Lavon Chaisson, Anfernee Jennings, and Jack Gibbons from last year's linebacker group for the 2026 season.
About Ian LogueIan Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.View all posts by Ian Logue
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