Patriots Take Flyer on Safety With Latest Free-Agent Signing
The New England Patriots take a chance on a young defender in free agency.
The New England Patriots haven't made any big signings during free agency. Their biggest contract came when they extended Mike Onwenu on a three-year, $57 million deal.
Other than that, they have been bargain shopping and that continued on Mar. 21.
According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the Patriots are signing former Falcons and Chargers safety Jaylinn Hawkins.
Screwed that one up. The #Patriots are signing former #Falcons and #Chargers S Jaylinn Hawkins, sources say. Not the #Panthers, as I’d previously posted. Misread a text. Apologies on that one.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 21, 2024
Patriots News: New England is Signing Jaylinn Hawkins
The specifics of the deal haven't been released yet but it likely will be a small cap number. New England is taking a flyer on an athletic defender in the backend.
Hawkins flies downhill to lay a big hit on the ball carrier and owns good instincts in the open field.
Across four seasons in the NFL, the California product has recorded 135 total tackles, 10 pass deflections, and four interceptions. He's also notched 25 starts.
New England will have Jabrill Peppers and Kyle Dugger as their two starting safeties in 2024 but Hawkins will provide quality depth behind those guys.
He can also be an asset on special teams as well. This addition doesn't do much for the Pats in 2024 but he can be productive if New England needs to trot him out there.
New England needs to ace this offseason to improve their odds for the 2024 season. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Patriots are +1700 underdogs to win the AFC East. If you want to take lock-in of these odds, head over to FanDuel Sportsbook and claim your sign-up bonus.
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