2025 Patriots Free Agency: Fixing Things at Tackle Has to Be the Priority
New England can't afford a repeat of what we saw on the offensive line in 2025.
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Posted Under: 2025 Patriots Free Agency
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Watching the Philadelphia Eagles absolutely dominate the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, one thing became pretty clear.
Building the offensive line is really going to need to be the bigger priority for the New England Patriots this offseason, really above any other position.
Many are obviously hoping to see the club target a top-end wide receiver when free agency starts next month. But seeing what the Eagles were able to do with the group they had is a reminder that the battle really does start in the trenches, and the hope is that what we saw from the Patriots up front in 2024 won’t repeat itself next season.
As we know, offensive tackle is a huge priority. Both Vederian Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs anchored the club’s line last season, which ended up causing them problems at various almost every week. Both Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett were sacked a combined 52 times, with Maye still being brought down 34 times. His number is even more telling given his mobility and his elusiveness, which is a reminder of how tough that situation was.
Lowe and Jacobs are decent players, but they’re ultimately guys who should be depth pieces and not starters. Seeing one of those guys step in and struggle for one week is one thing. Seeing it for an entire season is something entirely different.
Both certainly had their fair share of issues from a penalty standpoint. Jacobs and Lowe each finished last season with the team lead in penalties with 11, nearly three times the next nearest players, who all had four. That was similar to what we saw from both Trent Brown and Isaiah Wynn in 2022, when they led the club with 9 and 8 penalties, respectfully.
Looking back at last season, especially when Maye finally stepped in, an improved line certainly would have made a difference. When Maye had time last season, he was outstanding. That’s also why making sure he’s not under consistent pressure in 2025 is so important.
Left tackle has to be the biggest priority. Heading into free agency, the Patriots will have a few guys available to potentially target.
Both Ronnie Stanley and Alaric Jackson are among the top-ranked left tackles hitting the market and could potentially be guys the Patriots will take a look at. Jackson is massive at 6-foot-7, 345 pounds, while Stanley is 6’6″, 310 pounds, but both would certainly be significant upgrades over Lowe.
At 27, Jackson is the youngest of the two and would likely be the better long-term option. At 31, Stanley is potentially heading into his last big payday, and landing him would also be a big upgrade. The the only prolem is, the 33rd team ranks Stanley as the top-rated tackle in this free agent class, while Jackson comes in second, and both will likely receive significant deals. Both were graded well, as ProFootballFocus gave Stanley an 80.3 pass-blocking grade, while Jackson, came in slightly behind him at 74.7.
From there, the pool is pretty limited. Minnesota’s Cam Robinson, who is 29, is their third-ranked prospect. He’s also a left tackle and is another guy with good size at 6’6″, 335 pounds.
Tyron Smith, who is 34 and was available last offseason, is also expected to be available. Still, availability was the big question with him last spring, and he ended up playing in just 10 games this past season for the Jets.
After that, there’s Steelers left tackle Dan Moore Jr., who is young at just 26, but he struggled at times in Pittsburgh last season. Whether or not he could be coached up is a key question because he’s a young player who seems to have some upside.
The same can be said for Cleveland’s Jedrick Willis, who dealt with both injuries and inconsistent play. However, the bigger knock on him is the fact he’s a guy who was benched after making a self-proclaimed “business decision,” and sitting out with an injury, which didn’t sit well internally and led to head coach Kevin Stefanski calling it a “poor choice of words.”
With Vrabel having been in Cleveland last year to witness that one play out firsthand, it would certainly be an interesting situation if Willis landed here.
Right tackle is a different situation. The team has last year’s draft pick, Caedan Wallace, who looked good at several points earlier in the season before he got injured. He was inconsistent in the finale, but it’s tough to get a bead on him given that he had also missed 11 games, and against the Bills, it was his first extended action and the most snaps he saw all season.
Meanwhile, Lowe played relatively well at right tackle before moving back to the left side, but he’s not a long-term answer and it’s safe to say most people would prefer they don’t run it back with Jacobs.
Jets free agent tackle Morgan Moses, who started against New England at right tackle in both games last season, is also expected to be available. He’s 34, so he’s not necessarily a long-term answer and he’s also battled injuries the last two seasons. However, he would be someone who might make sense to bring in. ProFootballFocus also gave him a solid pass-blocking grade of 74.5.
For now, the Patriots certainly have a tough road ahead. There aren’t a ton of options in free agency and as we saw last spring, things will likely be competitive again. The club is expected to take a swing at a tackle in April, but this first round of free agency will most certainly set the tone for those moves when they eventually find themselves on the clock.
Whether or not having Maye and Vrabel in the fold this time around to pursuade potential free agents remains to be seen, but any of these guys would significantly turn the tide for a team that absolutely can’t afford to not upgrade these spots ahead of 2025.
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