Mike Vrabel and the Patriots open another pivotal free-agency period this week.
Mike Vrabel and the Patriots open another pivotal free-agency period this week.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
The Patriots’ first real chance to remake their roster starts Monday, with the negotiating period ahead of NFL free agency opening Monday afternoon.
Starting at noon, teams can begin negotiating with free agents, which means a number of players will have deals in place by the time the new league year begins (and contracts can officially be signed) on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
With new coach Mike Vrabel at the helm and plenty of gaps to fill after a 4-13 finish in 2024, New England has plenty of resources at its disposal. The Patriots boast a league-high $125 million in cap space, close to $35 million more than any other team, per Over The Cap.
The action got started early on Sunday with a number of key deals:
⋅ Myles Garrett became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history with his four-year contract extension signed with the Browns. The deal reportedly includes $122.8 million guaranteed, an average annual salary of $40 million with a total value of $204.8 million.
⋅ Receiver Davante Adams agreed to a two-year, $46 million contract with the Rams.
⋅ Receiver DK Metcalf is reportedly being traded from Seattle to Pittsburgh.
⋅ MVP Josh Allen was rewarded with a contract extension with the Bills worth $330 million, with $250 million of it guaranteed, which makes him among the league’s highest-paid players.
New England was also one of multiple teams to get ahead on the league’s legal negotiating period, agreeing to a deal with a player with Vrabel connections: former Titans LB Harold Landry, who is set to join the Patriots on a three-year, $43.5 million contract after he was released by Tennessee last week.
With one signing out of the way, New England’s priorities in free agency will likely focus on rebuilding the offense around Drake Maye, with particular attention on rebuilding a porous offensive line and bolstering an underwhelming receiving corps.
Some of the Patriots’ top targets are already off the board — the Ravens re-signed star tackle Ronnie Stanley and the Bengals placed the franchise tag on receiver Tee Higgins to name a couple — but New England could still make a run at some much-needed impact pieces.
We’ll have updates on deals around the league as they’re reported throughout the week. Follow along.
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What moves have the Patriots made so far?
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⋅ New England is signing linebacker Harold Landry to three-year, $43.5 million deal. They also re-signed TE Austin Hooper.
⋅ DT Davon Godchaux will be traded from the Patriots to the Saints after he requested the opportunity to seek a deal.
Here’s what else to know
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⋅ Here’s Ben Volin’s explainer on the salary cap and key terms to know in advance of NFL free agency
⋅ Who will the Patriots target in free agency? Look to Mike Vrabel’s connections.
⋅ What can the Patriots do at left tackle now that Ronnie Stanley is off the table? Nicole Yang explores.
⋅ A year later, the Patriots have a real pitch to free agents: Drake Maye and Mike Vrabel
NFL free agency live updates
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Patriots trade Davon Godchaux to Saints — 7:30 a.m.
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The Patriots are trading defensive tackle Davon Godchaux to the Saints for a seventh-round pick in 2026. The 6-foot-3-inch, 330-pounder, who played four seasons with New England, was given permission earlier this offseason to seek a trade with the thinking that he might not be a good fit in Mike Vrabel’s defensive scheme.
Trade: the New England Patriots have agreed to send DT Davon Godchaux to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round pick, sources tell ESPN. Godchaux attended high school in Plaquemine, La., before playing at LSU. He now returns to Louisiana once the trade can be… pic.twitter.com/cn4Kfqv1sG
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 10, 2025
The 30-year-old Godchaux has spent the last four seasons with the Patriots and has started 67 of 68 games since he was signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2021. Known primarily as a two-down run defender, he’s had 250 tackles and 2.5 sacks, as well as a forced fumble and fumble recovery in his time in New England.
In 2024, with Christian Barmore on the shelf for the bulk of the season with blood clot issues, the 6-foot-3-inch, 330-pound Godchaux was on the field for 60.7 percent of all defensive snaps, third-most among defensive linemen on the roster. It set a mark for the highest percentage of defensive snaps he had played in his Patriots tenure.
A former fifth-round pick of the Dolphins in 2017 out of Louisiana State, Godchaux has two years left on an extension he signed last July. That deal has a base salary of $4 million and a cap hit of $8.333 million for the coming season. — Christopher Price
Explaining the salary cap and key terms to know — 7:00 a.m.
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By Ben Volin
The NFL isn’t just the most dominant force in American sports. It’s the only league that requires an economics degree to follow the offseason.
The NBA and NHL salary caps are fairly straight forward — contracts are fully guaranteed, and every dollar earned counts that year against the cap. But guaranteed contracts are the exception in the NFL, which has a unique accounting system that allows teams to push cap dollars into future years. In the NFL, teams can make 1+1 = 2, 3, 5 or negative-12.
Following free agency can be tricky for fans. The salary cap can be complicated, and media reports on NFL contracts can be confusing or vague as agents sometimes obfuscate the real numbers.
With free agency set to begin in the upcoming week — verbal agreements can start Monday at noon, and signings and trades can become official Wednesday at 4 p.m. — let’s review how the NFL salary cap works and the key terms to know.
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Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com. Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her @k8tmac. Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him @cpriceglobe. Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com.Follow her @nicolecyang. Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.