There hasn’t been much concern for the New England Patriots during their seven-game winning streak. Both the offense and defense have continued their tremendous play and have shown no signs of slowing down.
While they’ve been lucky enough to have few injuries, their depth was tested in Sunday’s win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which multiple starters went down. Their depth, specifically in the secondary, was a concern at the beginning of the season when cornerback Alex Austin was tasked with filling Christian Gonzalez's void when he was sidelined for the first three games.
Austin, 24, proved quickly that he was unable to fill the shoes of the second-team All-Pro, allowing nine receptions on 12 targets for 153 yards and one touchdown over the first two games. His time as a starter was cut short just a few plays into New England's Week 3 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, as the team opted to shift starting slot corner Marcus Jones to wide corner, and put newcomer Charles Woods in at the slot.
With his continued poor play, combined with the return of Gonzalez, Austin’s workload on defense was completely diminished. Since logging 20 snaps in their Week 4 victory against the Carolina Panthers, Austin has yet to play a single snap on defense and has primarily served on the Patriots’ special teams.
Cornerback Alex Austin Has Been Unplayable After His Poor Start
In four games, Austin has recorded 10 total tackles, one tackle for loss, and one pass deflection, allowing 15.8 yards per reception and a passer rating of 142.5. According to Pro Football Focus, Austin earned a 42.2 overall grade, while his coverage grade was a 37.9.
Heading into this season, Austin was viewed as the team’s top backup cornerback after finishing the 2024 season with a string of strong performances. Playing just six of his nine games on defense, Austin logged nine total tackles, one tackle for loss, and five pass deflections, earning a 61.1 overall grade and 63.9 coverage grade.
Austin’s decline this season has been surprising and disappointing, considering New England is thin at depth at cornerback. Besides Austin, the only other backup cornerback the Patriots have on the active roster is Woods, who was claimed off waivers before the start of the season. Woods, like Austin, has had an inconsistent role with the team, logging just 58 total snaps, recording four total tackles, and one pass deflection.
Since Gonzalez's return, the Patriots have been fortunate that both he and Davis have remained healthy. Without them, the Patriots' secondary would be extremely vulnerable with Woods or Austin in as their replacements.
However, one of them must prove to be reliable in the upcoming weeks, as the Patriots aim to strengthen their positioning in a competitive conference. So far, it’s been Woods that has the edge, given he’s received more snaps than Austin since Week 4.
Barring an impressive string of performances, if allowed to play, this will be Austin’s last season with the Patriots. Although he’s been great for them on special teams, recording two total tackles and receiving a 73.3 special teams grade, the Patriots need a reliable backup corner, and Austin has proved to be incapable of being one.
Austin will be a free agent after this season, and considering the Patriots are loaded with draft capital and cap space this offseason, we should expect the two to part ways and the team to look elsewhere at the position.