Where the Patriots got better or worse in NFL free agency

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 8: Will Campbell #66 of the New England Patriots stands in a huddle with his teammates during the third quarter of the NFL Super Bowl LX football game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium on February 08, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Brooke Sutton/Getty Images) | Getty Images Even though they did not go on another record-breaking spending spree like in 2025, the New England Patriots were still quite busy refurbishing their roster in this year’s NFL free agency. In all, a look at our Patriots Free Agency Tracker shows that they added 12 outside players since late February, re-signed two of their own free agents, and parted ways with 13 players either through release or them signing elsewhere.

Five free agents, meanwhile, remain unaccounted for . And while they might not be done either — the market is effectively open year round — the big moves have been made and the general state of the roster reset heading toward the draft. Did the reigning AFC champions get better, though?

Let’s go through the roster position by position to find out where change was made, and whether or not it left the team trending up or down in those particular spots. Quarterback 90-man roster (2): Drake Maye, Tommy DeVito In: — Out: QB Joshua Dobbs (released) With last year’s No. 2, Joshua Dobbs, getting released, the Patriots got worse at the quarterback position on paper.

However, the real difference might not be the quality of players — one could argue the downgrade from Dobbs to new QB2 Tommy DeVito is minimal if even that — but rather the quantity. New England adding another player in the draft or subsequent rookie free agency could very well happen. Offensive backfield 90-man roster (5): Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson, Reggie Gilliam, Jack Westover (unsigned ERFA tender), Terrell Jennings, Lan Larison, Brock Lampe, Elijah Mitchell In: Reggie Gilliam (3 years, $10.