New England Patriots Free Agents: Who Should Stay & Who Should Go

New England Patriots Free Agents: Who Should Stay & Who Should Go

[Music] The Patriots are in the by-week, an extremely extremely late by week of week 14. So, we got to wait a long time, 13 days before we next see them on the field. So, while we have this entire break, I thought it’d be best to talk about the free agents that are impending going into this off season and deciding, should they stay? Should we resign them, or should we let them walk? Welcome to Patriots Today by Chat Sports. I am your host Brett Alper and there are five unrestricted free agents that the Patriots have a choice to resign or let them go. So before we get into it, I’ll ask you guys because it is as of this recording, it’s been two days and I’m already missing my fix. If you’re missing Patriots football during the bye week, go ahead, hit that thumbs up icon. Come on, let me see those likes. Get those like numbers up. If you miss it, show YouTube. Show the world. Let’s see it. Go hit that thumbs up icon. I I I can’t wait. The Patriots got the Bills coming off of the bye-week, which is going to be an insane game, but shout out to the NFL for uh actually not shout out, they’re still keeping it at the 1 p.m. slate. But let’s get to the free agents. The first one, and it’s a person, it’s a it’s a low kind of guy on the totem pole. We do like Austin Hooper, but we know that Hunter Henry is the main main tight end. And Hunter Henry, I’m going to be honest, is here to stay. Austin Hooper, he’s kind of that low-end guy. So, should we decide to resign him or to not resign him? Well, he’s getting up there in age. He’s already 31 years old. He’s probably going to be 32 by the time of next season. And you could see this year he hasn’t been the best guy and he’s not even that big of a blocker. He’s just kind of there. But I do enjoy watching Austin Hooper play. Like during some games he’s the main guy. There was a couple games where Austin Hooper took that step as the number one tight end and then took it back. But overall in 12 games played he did miss uh one game with a concussion. It was 16 receptions, 213 yards, an average of 13.3 yards per catch, but only one touchdown. Just one. And I like Austin Hooper. I’ll say it a million times, but he is not going to be your tight end, too. He is going to be your tight end. He is solid tight end two. He is not your tight end one. Hunter Henry is the guy. So, do you really want him to be that? And like I said, he’s got solid blocking grades. He’s a solid blocker. When the Patriots one run, 12 personnel, it’s Hunter Henry going out into catching passes. And Austin Hooper is staying back and blocking and a 56.2 pass run blocking grade. He’s a lot better at passing than at 60 point 65.1 pass blocking grade. So, it’d be an option for the Patriots to go and resign him. And he’s not really on that big of a contract. I think he’s on around a $2 million deal. So if honestly if he wants to take another oneyear $2 million deal because I really don’t want a tight end too being your guy and being at the age of 33 to still be on the roster. Sure, I’ll sign him to a one-year deal. If not, I would go out there and find somebody in the fourth round or the fifth round that could be your future tight end. I mean, the Titans, they found Gunner Helm in the fourth round and he has been an absolute gem. So, you don’t have to go out there and draft a guy in the second round or third round. You could find a guy in the later picks. And I see in the live chat right now, Michelle is talking about CJ Depri, the undrafted free agent out of Alabama. If you think he’s going to develop, then yeah, you can just let Austin Hooper walk. But if you don’t see CJ Depri being that guy developing into a tight end, too, then you might want to go out and draft another one. So Austin Hooper, h I’d probably just he’s probably going to they’re probably just going to let him walk. The next guy is a very very interesting choice on who you want to resign and that’s Kavon Chson the edge rusher and the Patriots. That is their in my opinion biggest biggest need for this off season. It’s offensive tackles and also getting an edge rusher. And Caleb Chaan, he is having an absolute breakout year. He is 26 years old. This is the best season of his career. And he has been in the league for a long, long, long time. He was on the Panthers at one point and then he went over to the Raiders. Then comes to New England and he has had a career resurgence and kind of a breakout year, a late bloomer as I like to call it. He’s an edge rusher. He’s not going to get so many tackles, but 22, eight tackles for loss. But you see that number right there through seven games or through 12 games, seven sacks, 47 pressures. That is a ton at a PFF grade of 56.6. You could see from the stats, he hasn’t had seven sacks in his career. Harold Landry has also six and a half sacks. It’s those two on the side. It’s a career year for Chayson. But now that he’s having a breakout year, he’s going to want to get a lot of money. And the Patriots, they do have a lot of cap space. They got about $50 million, but you’re going to have to pay him 10 to 12 million, unlike the contract that he has now in his one-year deal. And I get that he’s having a great year. But at 26 years old, going into your best year, 26 27, can he keep that pace up if you sign him to a long-term deal? Can he keep that pace up? Is he going to have a repeat year in 2026 of having seven sacks and maybe even more cuz there’s a ton of games left. He’s probably going to end up with 10 or 11. So, is he going to be able to keep up that? Are we going to be willing to pay him $10 million or do you want the Patriots to go in the second round? Get that edge rusher. Get that guy that’s going to honestly be younger than ChaSson and probably be just as productive if you get him in the second round. That’s the question you have to make. If you are willing to keep rebuilding this team and get better for the future, then you don’t let them then you don’t resign him. You let them walk. But if you want to keep them around and see this is our window. We have a tight window. But I don’t think the Patriots have a tight Super Bowl window. Then you resign him. But you let me know down in the comments section. Give me a Y for yes or give me an N for no. Would you pay Kay Leavon Chasan $10 million or more? I’m going to go with no. I want to keep rebuilding. Like I I just said, I don’t think the Patriots have a tight Super Bowl window. Drake May is on his rookie contract. Christian Gonzalez is still technically on his rookie contract, but he can also go. He’s eligible for an extension. You just extended Marcus Jones. He is a young player. He came into the league in 2022. Your window is wide open. And as long as Drake May is on that rookie contract, you can go out and rebuild as much as you want. So, I’d probably I I I love Caleb Chasan this year, but for $12 million, I’m not I’m not resigning him. I’m not resigning him. A guy that uh I really really like and he’s also been a late bloomer like Kavon Shaison. That’s Jaylen Hawkins is your safety, but he’s also a little bit younger. He’s around the same age as Kavon Shaison kind of, but also another late bloomer. Yeah, he’s actually 28 years old. What am I talking about? But in 2025, he is having a breakout year. Just like Chson, 51 tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups. He has been the reason why the Patriots got rid of Kyle Duggar. Reason why the Patriots got rid of Jabriel Peppers before the season started. And when you look at his PFF grades and the 2025 stats from this season, his coverage grade, incredible, 15th in the NFL at 72.6. His receiving percentage when quarterbacks target him, he is 10th in the NFL at 60.9% and his NFL passer rating is 17th in the NFL at 80 80 QB rating. And he’s going to get paid, but he’s also not going to get paid that much. When I was looking at over the cap and I was looking at spot track, they gave the only guy of the Patriots free agents the market value and the average salary for him is three 6,742 rank NFL rank 389 and they’re projecting him to get three years $20 million. So if you can get that at about 6.7 million, I’m taking that in a heartbeat. And I’m doing it just because off of one single play. Like resign him immediately. I haven’t seen an NFL player, especially as the safety position, make an interception like that one in a long, long time. He has been the perfect safety and I like building this safety room with him on one side, Craig Woodson on the other, who is a rookie, so he’s going to be here to stay for a long, long, long time. So, resign Jaylen Hawkins immediately. I like what they did with this safety room. I was a little skeptical at first. I didn’t know what the hell the Patriots were thinking, but obviously I’m not the head coach. I’m not Mike Frabel. I’m not Zack Kerr. They made a good decision at going with Jaylen Hawkins and I like him to stay. I wanted to resign him absolutely immediately. Gonna get to the rest of the guys, the final two ones, and there’s one that probably you guys all know about, and he’s the last one. But before I do that, I got to tell you about our sponsor of today’s show, and that is Prize Picks. It’s the holiday season, the best time of the year for sports. Bowl games, basketball, matchups, playoff pushes, it’s all happening at once. While you and I are out here making decisions every day on what gifts to buy, what to eat, what game to watch, there is one place where it feels good to be right. Prize picks. Prospects simple to play. 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And when he came over from the Patriots, it was that guy like, oh well, he’s coming over from where else? Tennessee. He’s coming over with Mike Frabel. And I know Mike Frabel loves Jack Gibbons and he has been a very, very, very solid player for this Patriots team on the linebacker core. And the linebacker core has shifted all throughout the entire season due to injuries, due to personal reasons with Galani Tavvi leaving. And once Galani Tvai came back, whoa, he has been very, very, very good. But Jack Gibbons, he has been all the way at the bottom of the Patriots depart. He’s currently at linebacker four. He is behind Robert Splain. He is behind Christian Ellis. He’s behind Galani Tavi. He is at that number four spot, which I really enjoy watching him play. I see him on special teams all the time making plays for the special teams. And when he comes in on defense in relief, he’s very, very, very good. And the the stats, they don’t lie. 280 snaps, 52 tackles, four tackles for loss, 14 stops, and 62.8 8. There we go. Only 13 in 13 games played. He has played in every single game this season. Like I said, four tackles for loss at the linebacker spot, but he’s only played in 280 snaps and he’s still getting that PFF grade of 62.8. Look, he’s a very solid player in relief when Robert Spelain gets tired, when Christian Ellis gets tired, because we saw on Monday he was headunting out there. My guy Christian CTE Ellis giving guy CTE at this point. He is out there, but when he gets a little tired, when he wants a break coming onto the sidelines, we see Galani Tvai, we see Jack Gibbons come in and he is very, very, very solid player just to have as your backup. He is not your starter. I would keep him on a one-year $1.3 million contract. Again, that’s his current contract now, but obviously with the salary cap always going out going up, it’s going to take a little more to resign him, but I think that the Patriots should resign Jack Gibbons on whatever he has, that little minimum that they have right now. Now, the last guy on my list, I’m not even going to beat around the bush. If they let him go, I’m going to be absolutely livid, and it’s our guy Kyus Tonga. He has been the breakout, and I mean absolute breakout athlete for the Patriots coming over from the Arizona Cardinals. And I did not even think that this was going to be a big signing for the Patriots on a one-year deal. I was just like, “Okay, well, cool. It’s going to be a backup to Christian Barmore and Milton Williams.” But no, no details needed. Resign him right now if you’re able to. He has come in in relief just like Jack Gibbons, but he has made an impact on this team. 19 tackles, two tackles for loss. He hasn’t played a lot, but with Milton Williams out, he was the guy to step in. And also, his snap percentage is not a lot, guys. 54.4%. 19 tackles. We talk about how defensive tackles don’t do a lot. Two tackles for loss, 10 pressures, but a PFF grade of 68% or 68.0. But the best part about Kyus Tonga more than anything is someone on the Patriots scouting department, whether it was Josh McDaniels or someone in there said, “Oh, this guy can play both sides of the ball.” And I got these pictures against the Bucks when he was playing fullback. And you can see I circled it for you right here. He is able to make the blocks for the offense and make big plays happen. On this play, that was guess what? The 69yd touchdown that Trayvon Henderson had against the Bucks. And on this one, you could see the next play. Well, the running back’s in. Tayvon Henderson’s looking for the hole. Who’s that guy circled right there? Kyus Tonga breaking the hole open so they can get the first down. He is a perfect player that can play both sides of the ball. He’s not going to be your starter, but he can go anywhere on the defensive line. You can put him at DTackle. If you want Milton Williams to get a rest, if you want Christian Barour to get rest, he can go right in and be just as productive. And on the offensive end, if you need a blocker on third down and one, who do you want to come in the ball game, Kyus Tonga, I’m still waiting. At some point this season, he’s scoring a touchdown. I know they’re throwing a touchdown. Just don’t let this man leave New England. He is too valuable of a backup for the Patriots to let go. Do not let him leave. I want him to stay immediately. Stay immediately. But if you guys want him to stay just like I do because I don’t want this man to go anywhere. I love the guy. If you want the Patriots to resign Kyus Tonga, go ahead, hit that thumbs up icon, like the video because we got to show every single person that uh maybe Kyus Tonga will see it and he’ll be convinced that he gets to sign that pen to paper. Don’t forget to hit me up on Twitter or Instagram. We’re talking Patriots all the time. My DMs are open at there alper. And as always, let’s go Pats. [Music]

The New England Patriots have multiple free agents that are set to hit 2026 NFL Free Agency in March and during the bye week it is a perfect time to highlight these players and if they should stay and resign or should Eliot Wolf and Mike Vrabel let them go. https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS and use code CLNS and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! The Patriots are 11-2 in the 2025 NFL Season and in first place of the AFC. Only 5 players are set to be free agents including Austin Hooper, K’Lavon Chaisson and Khyiris Tonga could leave the Patriots in March, but with their performance they should want to resign them. NE Patriots host Brett Alper breaks down every free agent and if they should resign on this latest New England Patriots YouTube video.

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Patriots free agents:
Austin Hooper
K’Lavon Chaisson
Jaylinn Hawkins
Jack Gibbens
Khyiris Tonga

Jaylnn Hawkins 2025 PFF Stats:
Coverage Grade: 72.6 (15th)
REC %: 60.9 (10th)
NFL PASS RTG: 80.0 (17th)

Need more New England Patriots YouTube videos during the 2025 NFL season? These are a good start:
– New England Patriots Land ABSOLUTE STEAL In Dane Brugler’s 2026 NFL Mock Draft – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiRGIK3vE30
– Colin Cowherd Said WHAT About Patriots QB Drake Maye?!? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4vADmp8x0M
– New England Patriots Fans Will LOVE THIS! – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpJpiChN2V8

K’Lavon Chaisson 2025 Stats:
22 TKL
8 TFL
7 Sacks
47 Pressures
56.6 PFF GD

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Jack Gibbens 2025 Stats:
280 Snaps
52 TKL
4 TFL
14 Stops
62.8 PFF GD

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Patriots Today host Brett Alper wants to hear your takes in the comments:

New England Patriots 2025 NFL Draft picks:
RD. 1 #4 overall: Will Campbell (OT, LSU)
RD. 2 #38 overall: Treveyon Henderson (RB, Ohio St)
RD. 3 #69 overall: Kyle Williams (WR, Washington St.)
RD. 3 #95 overall: Jared Wilson (C, Georgia)
RD. 4 106 overall: Craig Woodson (S, California)
RD. 5 137 overall: Joshua Farmer (DL, Florida St.)
RD. 5 146 overall: Bradyn Swinson (EDGE, LSU)
RD. 5 182 overall: Andres Borregales (K, Miami)
RD. 7 220 overall: Marcus Bryant (OT, Missouri)
RD. 7 251 overall: Julian Ashby (LS, Vanderbilt)
RD. 7 257 overall: Kobee Minor (CB, Memphis)”

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