The New England Patriots are hard at work reshaping the roster under new head coach Mike Vrabel, hoping to get back to the glory days defensively and start competing for AFC East titles once again.
Terrell Williams is the defensive coordinator now, taking over a group that ranked 18th in opponent yards per play (5.5) just one season after finishing third (4.7) in that category. Christian Gonzalez is a star and if this team has any chance to push for the playoffs, it needs to surround him with quality players who fit the scheme.
Accordingly, the Patriots have elected to re-sign an underrated player who should excel under Williams.
The #Patriots plan to tender RFA linebacker Christian Elliss at the right-of-first-refusal amount of $3.263M, per sources.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 6, 2025
Elliss had 80 tackles, 1.5 sacks and five pass deflections last season. pic.twitter.com/AbkXXLQ0Uu
Patriots Tender RFA Linebacker Christian Elliss Ahead of Free Agency
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that the Patriots have tendered restricted free agent linebacker Christian Elliss at the right-of-first-refusal amount of $3.263 million.
That means that if any team offers Elliss a contract, New England has the opportunity to match it. Otherwise, the Patriots would not receive any compensation in return since Elliss was an unrestricted free agent. The versatile 26-year-old played 49% of the defensive snaps and 60% of the special teams ones in 2024, emerging as a reliable weapon in two phases of the game.
As Mike Reiss of ESPN explains, Elliss is a natural fit for the new-look defense.
"An undersized LB who moves well, his projected fit in Terrell Williams' new scheme could help further elevate his play (compared to a downhill thumper, playing behind 2-gapping D-linemen, who would traditionally be targeted as more ideal in the old scheme)," Reiss writes. At only six-foot-two and 231 pounds, Elliss is the type of guy who can drown in certain schemes but excel in others.
He ranked 41st out of 189 qualified linebackers at Pro Football Focus in his first year of substantial playing time on defense, so there's plenty of room for him to grow and improve as well.
Provided the Patriots do wind up keeping Elliss and another team doesn't outbid them, he'll be an interesting player to watch grow and develop under the new regime.