With Mike Vrabel back in Foxborough as the head coach of the Patriots, he upgraded the defense by adding veteran players whom he previously coached and has experience with. In doing so, Vrabel added a new linebacker corps, which inevitably meant that he had to part ways with a longtime linebacker and team captain, Ja’Whaun Bentley.
Bentley was a full-time starter for the last four years and totaled over 100 tackles in three out of the last five years. He made 91 tackles in 2020 and played in only two games in 2024 before missing the rest of the season with a torn pectoral.
Vrabel mentioned that it wasn’t an easy decision to part ways with Bentley, and all personnel decisions are difficult to make since he wasn’t with New England last season.
“These are difficult decisions, with players that have been here for a while and made great contributions to the football team before I was here. So, I know the Kraft family and the organization appreciate everything that they did, but these are decisions that we don’t take lightly," he said. "These are tough personnel decisions that we have to make. … Once we come to the conclusion we are as honest and direct with the player as we can, thank them, and that’s what we did with Ja’Whaun.”
In seven years in New England, Bentley started in 68 out of 83 games. He totaled 509 tackles (21 for a loss) and made 10.5 sacks with 29 quarterback hits.
Bentley was often the most consistent and reliable player on the defense over the last few seasons. He even wore the Green Dot and had responsibilities of setting up the defense.
After being released, Bentley’s teammates didn’t see it coming; some of them, Christian Gonzalez and Davon Godchaux, went to Twitter to share their confusion. Bentley, on the other hand, went to his Instagram to thank the Patriots organization, former coaches, and the fans.
"It’s been an honor to put on for New England for the past seven-years, man!! We had run! Relationships that’ll last a lifetime. The long lineage of Dynamic Backers that put on that Patriot uniform on was something I took pride in. Even though it’s Up whenever we see each other again, lol, it’s Always Love!! Special Thank you to the countless organizations in the New England area that I’ve had the opportunity to work with. We are locked in forever."
It’s shocking that a player of his caliber is still out there as an available free agent. I don’t anticipate Bentley being unemployed for long, however, it’ll be dependent on his status returning from a season-ending injury in 2024.
With that said, Bentley is cleared to play and that’s great news for him and a new team looking to sign him. According to Pro Football Focus, there’s a handful of teams that will still need linebacker help even after the draft, including: Baltimore, Indianapolis, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, and Washington.
Knowing Bentley’s play style and what he brings to the table, a good landing spot for him could be the Colts next to Zaire Franklin or the Ravens to beef up the middle of their defense. The Titans could also use an extra hand now considering most of their former linebackers are now on the Patriots and the same can be said for the Raiders.
Bentley is going to be 29-years-old this season and is right in the prime of his career. He still has more left in the tank to offer another team, but he’s going to have to show that somehow before a team starts to call him.