Outside of the smaller matter of finding a new franchise quarterback and replacing the greatest football coach ever, the New England Patriots’ new de facto general manager, Eliot Wolf, has approached his task of rebuilding the once great Patriots team in an unexpected manner.
Owner, Robert Kraft, decided promptly on a new head coach, the contractual sucessor, Jared Mayo, before New England turned their sights towards former UNC quarterback, Drake Maye, with the 3rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
New England Patriots Moving In An Unanticipated Direction
Many believed that after a dismal 4-13 season that effectively ended Bill Belichick’s tenure, the Patriots’ front office would spend aggressively in free agency, both to signify the beginning of a new era in the north east and to bring in some genuine talent to replace what has been a lacklustre roster, particularly on offense. A roster which lacks and has lacked bona fide blue chip talent on either side of the ball since the departures of Stephon Gilmore, Joe Thuney, Julian Edelman and of course GOAT, Tom Brady.
Yet, surprisingly, instead of stripping down the roster to get rid of dead-weight starters, or waiting for contract expiries and collecting compensatory picks in order to re-build through the draft process, Wolf and co. have been oddly bullish on many of the components of New England’s current crop of talent.
They have re-signed or extended 6 players since the offseason began in mid-March, from “cornerstone” right tackle, Mike Onwenu, to defensive end Anfernee Jennings, who recorded just 1.5 sacks in 2023 despite playing more snaps than any other end defensive end in New England.
Having recently extended impressive, but not yet elite running back, Rhamondre Stevenson, the New England Patriots were seemingly done with their summer in-house signings. However, there at least one more that has been finalized, former Detroit Lions 2nd round pick, Jahlani Tavai.
News story (with @AdamSchefter): Patriots LB Jahlani Tavai signs 3-year extension with base value of $15 million that can be worth up to $21 million.
Tavai was entering the final year of his contract. Extension continues a Patriots trend this offseason. https://t.co/nWMOkgftTd
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) July 2, 2024
Jahlani Tavai Staying In New England Bears Strange Resemblance To Former Legendary Linebacker’s Career Arc
Jahlani Tavai became the 7th player extended by GM Wolf, a move that is intriguing but not necessarily all that surprising.
After being released by the Detroit Lions amidst final roster cuts in 2021, Tahlai – who New England were rumored to have been very interested in coming out of college in the 2019 NFL Draft took up residence on the Patriots’ practice in September before finally breaking into the first team at the start of the following season in 2022.
Although Tavai recently signed an extension back in 2022 to take him through the end of the 2024 season, New England was clearly impressed with what he bought to the table, and as such rewarded him with an ironically Belichick-ian mid level, 3 years, $15 million deal laden with incentives.
The most odd thing about Tavai’s journey, however, has been his odd parallel to old Foxborough great, the still-playing, 2 x Super Bowl champion and New England Patriots team of the 2010s star, Kyle Van Noy.
Noy too was drafted in the 2nd round as a linebacker by the until-recently ever-failing Detroit Lions, back in 2014. And much like Tavai, Noy lasted just 2 full seasons in Motown before heading to New England; although in his case by traded, rather than being cut; where he broke into the first team in his second season with the team.
As of yet, Tavai has been a solid starter, and has cemented himself very much as the main man in the Pats’ linebacking corps, second only to long-time veteran and team captain, Ja’Whaun Bentley. Nevertheless, 3 years into Noy’s career, he already had 2 Super Bowl rings to his name, something that Tavai may have to wait a little longer for.
Tavai’s extension would indicate that he has not necessarily set the world on fire with his play, yet, he has been a consistent playmaker over the past 2 seasons, recording 110 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 interceptions and a sack in 2023.
In fact, the former the University of Hawai’i alum graded out as a top 10 off-the-ball LB last season with an excellent 86.6 grade, although normally one finds these systems are better indicators of general play quality rather than highly accurate scales.
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