Former Patriots Defender Joins Jets After Week 3 Beatdown

The Green Goblin has joined Gang Green. Former New England Patriot defensive back Jalen Mills has found a new home – one that will be keeping him in the AFC East.

The New York Jets – fresh off of a Thursday night 24-3 beatdown of the Patriots – signed Mills to their practice squad on Monday evening. He appeared in 43 games for the Patriots, including 34 starts, across three seasons.

Mills joined New England as part of the Patriots' record-setting spending spree at the beginning of free agency in 2021, inking a four-year, $24 million deal. He recorded two interceptions and 123 tackles in his tenure in Foxborough.

Mills was released by the Patriots in March 2023 but was re-signed five days later. With the emergence of players such as Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger, his playing time diminished significantly, frustrating Mills as he took to Twitter after only playing 10 snaps in a Week 5 loss. The veteran didn't really fit into the fold going forward on New England's defense, and the new regime let him walk this past offseason.

The 30-year-old spent the offseason with the New York Giants under former Patriots assistant Brian Daboll, but was released in Aug. Mills arrived at training camp with a calf strain and was immediately placed on the non-football injury list, so he never even touched the field during the offseason.

Mills was originally a seventh-round pick out of LSU by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2016 NFL Draft. He spent the first five seasons of his career in Philly and was a member of the Super Bowl LII Eagles squad that prevented a Patriots three-peat.

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