The Patriots re-signed veteran defenseman Jalen Mills after his reported release less than a week ago.
After signing the Eagles’ former draft pick to a four-year, $24 million contract in free agency in 2021, the Patriots planned to release Mills in a cap-saving maneuver but are retaining the versatile defensive line on a revised one-year contract. according to several reports. Mills’ release was never official in the eyes of the salary cap, so the revised contract, worth up to $6.1 million, takes the place of his original deal, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
With the Patriots’ outside cornerback depleted in depth, Mills has been a full-time corner for New England for the past two seasons, where he’s had an up-and-down production. Last season, Mills allowed a 79.2 passer rating in his coverage with a 60% completion rate while logging 80.1% of his outside corner snaps. The 28-year-old missed the last six games of the 2022 season with a nagging groin injury. Despite being inconsistent in the corner, Mills returns as the only defender capable of playing the position listed over two yards on the squad.
Mills could also reportedly move to safety next season, where he can help fill the void left by franchise legend Devin McCourty’s retirement. In Philly, Mills was a jack of all trades, recording snaps in the box (329), free safety (236) and both cornerback spots. When he signed with the Pats as a free agent, most expected head coach Bill Belichick would capitalize on that versatility, moving Mills around the secondary to get the best of his abilities.
A pawn in the Eagles defense, Mills was arguably having his best season with a career-high 68.9 from Pro Football Focus. The Pats competed against other free-agent safety’s this offseason and welcomed former Rams safety Taylor Rapp to visit. But now they’re reportedly staying with Mills, who joins a group of DBs who can mix and match on the backend.
The Patriots will have a hard time finding a pure midfielder with the intelligence and experience on the field to fill McCourty’s shoes with a player. Instead, Mills joins security standout Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, Jabrill Peppers and versatile nickel corners Jonathan Jones and Myles Bryant in a possible committee replacement for McCourty. Free security might still be a need in the draft. Still, this move lessens the need to find an immediate McCourty replacement, which has been an issue across the roster throughout the offseason – find viable options for veterans lest desperation force you into a specific position at the top of the draft .
With Mills returning, the feeling here is that he could serve as another option to cover top tight ends given he has the size and covering skills that would unleash Dugger to more of a Rover role where he can play Ball Hawk in secondary school instead of playing man coverage. Mills also has some experience playing both post-safety and split-safety orders, but it remains to be seen how trustworthy he will be as a deep-zone defender in that system.
The Patriots continue to maintain their deep plays on defense, with Mills joining six other internal free agents this offseason who were promoted again to return to Foxboro.