The New England Patriots have already restructured their coaching staff for the second consecutive offseason. Now it is time for the real work with an expected overhaul of the roster coming.
Free agency will be a key part of this process. And while adding external players to the mix will undoubtably happen with over $130 million in projected cap space, there are also a few in-house free agents to be taken care of. Following a series of moves, 10 remain in need of a new contract prior to free agency.
Among them is defensive lineman Deatrich Wise Jr., the next player in our free agency profile series.
Hard facts
Name: Deatrich Wise Jr.
Position: Defensive end/Interior defensive line
Opening day age: 31 (7/26/1994)
Size: 6-foot-5, 280 pounds
Jersey number: 91
Free agency status: Unrestricted free agent (UFA)
Experience
NFL teams: New England Patriots (2017-2024)
Coming off a five-year career at the University of Arkansas, Wise Jr. heard his name called in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. One of a league-low four players selected by New England that year, he was the only member of the group to make the 53-man roster his rookie year — a sign of things to come.
Wise Jr. turned out to be not just the most productive member of that Patriots’ draft class by far, but the only one to stay with the team throughout his rookie contract (and beyond). Initially starting out as an edge in a 4-3-based defense, he morphed into a versatile interior lineman capable of playing several techniques up front.
This change in role allowed Wise Jr. to develop into a productive and valuable player for the team, and earned him a four-year contract extension at the end of his rookie deal. As a result, he has appeared in a combined 132 regular season and playoff games for the Patriots, helping them win one Super Bowl and taking on a prominent leadership role in the post-dynasty transitional era.
Voted a captain each of the last three seasons, he has 36 total sacks, 5 forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown on his career résumé. Considering that 130 players heard their names called before him in the draft, he managed to build quite the impressive career.
2024 review
Stats: 15 games (5 starts) | 408 defensive snaps (36.5%), 85 special teams snaps (19.5%) | 29 tackles, 2 missed tackles (6.5%), 5 TFLs | 20 quarterback pressures (5 sacks, 3 hits, 12 hurries) | 3 penalties
Season recap: Playing under a new head coach for the first time in his NFL career, Wise Jr.’s eighth season in the league was a disappointment relative to the standard of performance he recently was able to establish for himself. While he did end up tying Keion White as the team leader in sacks (5), he also saw his usage decrease and experienced an uncharacteristic uptick in mental errors.
The Patriots’ second longest-tenured defender appeared in 15 games, missing a pair of contests in November due to a foot injury. When on the field, Wise Jr. played 41 percent of available defensive snaps — his lowest playing time share since 2019, when he played 26 percent of snaps over 14 contests.
The aforementioned Keion White emerging in a similar role as an end/edge hybrid played part in that development. However, Wise Jr. himself also had his fair share of issues ranging from inconsistency in defeating blockers as a pass rusher, setting a stout edge against the run and containing mobile quarterbacks, to mental lapses unbecoming of a veteran leader: he was flagged three times on the year, third on the defensive side of the ball.
Not all was bad for Wise Jr., though. He was voted a captain for a third straight year — a recognition of the respect he enjoys within the locker room — and nominated by the club for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Additionally, he finished third on the team in total quarterback pressures (20) and showed that he can still be productive even on the wrong side of 30.
In the grand scheme of things, however, he can be regarded as a perfect example of the Patriots defense as a whole in 2024: he had some encouraging moments, but took a step back.
Free agency preview
What is his contract history? Wise Jr. joined the Patriots via a classic four-year rookie contract worth just under $3 million, and later stayed with the team on a four-year, $22 million extension. Adding earned bonuses and escalators into the equation, his total career earnings have been calculated at $28.2 million by Over The Cap.
Which teams might be in the running? Several teams in the NFL need defensive line help, and adding an experienced and versatile option like Wise Jr. to the table would make sense for most of them. Those include the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. The Green Bay Packers, who hired ex-Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington as their defensive line coach also need to be mentioned as a potential competitor for his services.
Why should he be expected back? New Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is big on culture, and Wise Jr. has plenty to offer in that regard. Besides being a well-liked presence in the locker room and multi-year captain, he also looks like a fit for the new attacking style of defense Vrabel and new coordinator Terrell Williams have in mind: he has shown that he can attack upfield from various alignments, and be of value in a package-specific role.
Why should he be expected to leave? A soon-to-be 31-year-old coming off his worst season in the last five years is not necessarily a player a new regime might prioritize in free agency. Leadership can only take you so far if the on-field projections do not look favorably, and there is a chance that the Patriots simply decide to cut the cord with none of the defensive coaches and main executives still in place from when he was acquired and extended.
What is his projected free agency outcome? As far as fourth-round draft picks go, Wise Jr. qualifies as a definitive hit for the Patriots and a player who, as noted above, has had an impressive tenure. However, as the team heads into the future it will be looking for new players to build around.
What do you think about Deatrich Wise Jr. heading into free agency? Is he really bound to leave? Or will the Patriots bring him back? Please head down to the comment section to discuss.