{"id":72446,"date":"2026-07-10T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T11:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=72446"},"modified":"2026-07-10T09:08:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T13:08:39","slug":"morse-patriots-position-analysis-linebackers-and-special-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2026\/07\/10\/morse-patriots-position-analysis-linebackers-and-special-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"MORSE: Patriots Position Analysis – Linebackers and Special Teams"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article, I will take a look at the Linebackers and Special Teams.<\/p>\n

Linebackers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Christian Elliss<\/strong> \u2013 Elliss played in 15 regular-season games and was second on the team with 94 Tackles.\u00a0 The Patriots matched a Restricted Free Agent offer for 2 years and $12M to retain Elliss’s services. \u00a0\u00a0Elliss played up to that contract.\u00a0 In 2024, he was strictly a special-teams player and stepped up in 2025 to a full-time starter.\u00a0 We are looking for Elliss’ to improve in 2026.\u00a0 This is a contract year for Elliss, and I expect we will see his best so that he can cash in on a new Free Agency contract.<\/p>\n

Robert Spillane \u2013 <\/strong>Spillane has been a consistent Linebacker for years.\u00a0 He is not fancy, just consistently around the ball.\u00a0 Despite missing 4 games, he still led the team with 97 Tackles.\u00a0 However, he will turn 31 later this season, and injuries come easily to older players.\u00a0 He missed 4 games last season, and that is a concern for the Patriots.\u00a0 When he is in there, he controls the Defense as a signal-caller.\u00a0 When he was out, the defense wasn\u2019t as stout.<\/p>\n

Chad Muma <\/strong>\u2013 Muma was a late-season addition.\u00a0 The 6\u20193\u201d, 239-pound backer was a 2022 3rd-round (70) selection by Jacksonville out of Wyoming.\u00a0 He was a Third Team All-American and a player I really liked coming out that year.\u00a0 Muma has never been a starter, having started only 7 games in 4 years.\u00a0 He only played in 8 games last season with 9 Tackles.\u00a0 His contribution will be as a backup and special-teams player.\u00a0 Muma was signed by the Patriots off the Colts Practice Squad in Mid-December.\u00a0 At the Combine, Muma ran a 4.63 40-yard dash.<\/p>\n

\"Robert
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

KJ Britt\u00a0 <\/strong>– Britt was an under-the-radar signing by the Patriots in Free Agency.\u00a0 He was drafted in 2022 in the 5th<\/sup> round (176) by Tampa Bay.\u00a0 His best season was in 2024 with 11 starts in 14 games, and he had 72 Tackles.\u00a0 In 2025, he signed a one-year contract with Miami, making just 1 start in 17 games.\u00a0 At just 6\u2019 240 pounds, the Auburn product ran a 4.76 40-yard dash.\u00a0 Britt is expected to be the backup to Spillane and a special-teams player.<\/p>\n

Namdi Obiazor <\/strong>\u2013 Obiazor was the only linebacker drafted by the Patriots.\u00a0 He was selected in the 6th<\/sup> round (212) out of TCU.\u00a0 The 6\u20193\u201d 229-pound backer ran an impressive 4.53 at the Combine.\u00a0 That time was .05 faster than expected.\u00a0 Last season for the Horned Frogs, he had 88 Tackles.\u00a0 Obiazor is expected to contribute on Special Teams and as a backup player inside and outside.<\/p>\n

Amari Gainer <\/strong>\u2013 Gainer is an older prospect at 26.\u00a0 He played 4 years at Florida State and one year at North Carolina.\u00a0 He went Undrafted in 2025 and signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.\u00a0 Gainer was waived prior to the final cutdown and remained available for every team to sign him.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t until mid-December that Gainer was signed to the Patriots Practice Squad.\u00a0 Gainer signed a Futures contract with the Patriots after the season.\u00a0 He is a long shot to make the team, but perhaps he can provide depth as a Practice Squad player if he has a good camp.<\/p>\n

Otis Reese<\/strong> \u2013 Reese spent two years at Georgia (2018 \u2013 2019) and transferred to Ole Miss (2020-2023).\u00a0 He went undrafted but was signed by the Tennessee Titans and Head Coach Mike Vrabel.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t make the Titans roster but was signed to the Practice Squad and was elevated to the 53-man roster in December and played all of 2024 for Vrabel on Special Teams.\u00a0 Last year, he was signed by Buffalo after being cut by Tennessee and was waived in October.\u00a0 The Patriots signed him in December to their Practice Squad and, after the season, signed a Futures contract.\u00a0 Reese will be competing for a spot on the Practice Squad.<\/p>\n

Khalil Jacobs <\/strong>\u2013 Jacobs signed as an UDFA this season out of Missouri.\u00a0 The 6\u20191\u201d 227-pound linebacker had 48 tackles in the SEC last season for the Tigers and added 3 sacks.\u00a0 He ran a 4.77 40-yard dash at his Pro day.\u00a0 It remains to be seen what kind of impact Jacobs will make in camp, if any.\u00a0 It appears that Jacobs is just camp fodder.<\/p>\n

\"Nov
(PHOTO: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports)<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Special Teams<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Brenden Schooler (ST) <\/strong>\u2013 Schooler is a Special Teams ace, a player opponents have to game plan around.\u00a0 His value is on each of the 4 Special Teams units, even though he is technically listed as a Safety.\u00a0 He can play some Safety in an emergency or as a gadget player that has spy capabilities against QBs that can break the pocket and run.\u00a0 However, we don\u2019t want Schooler to have to play any significant time at Safety.<\/p>\n

Bryce Baringer (P)\u2013 <\/strong>I am shocked the Patriots didn\u2019t draft a Punter this year.\u00a0 There were several good ones available late in the draft. Instead, they took players who would have been UDFAs and chose to draft them and not compete for their services.\u00a0 Barringer had a bad year.\u00a0 <\/strong>They even brought in a punter during Mini Camp for a three- day tryout but didn\u2019t sign him.\u00a0 Barringer was ranked 21st<\/sup> with a 40.6 YPP average. \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Barringer was 15th<\/sup> in percentage of kicks inside the 20 at 41.6%.\u00a0 He ended up 25th<\/sup> in the number of punts (51).\u00a0 There is room for improvement.\u00a0 I would like to see the team bring in a veteran punter to give him some competition.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andre Borregales (K) <\/strong>\u2013 Borregales had a mediocre rookie season.\u00a0 He finished 18th<\/sup> in Field Goal %.\u00a0 In 2025, he also finished 18th<\/sup> on Extra Points %.\u00a0 His longest kick was a 59-yarder.\u00a0 Middle-of-the-pack numbers that need to improve.<\/p>\n

Julian Ashby (LS) \u2013 <\/strong>The unheralded position doesn\u2019t get noticed unless he screws up.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember that Ashby missed many snaps.\u00a0 I also didn\u2019t notice him on any downfield tackles on Special Teams either.\u00a0 Just making consistently good snaps is good enough for me.\u00a0 He was a draft pick, so I expected that he would be good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patriots’ Linebackers and Special Teams are analyzed, detailing player performances, contract years, and improvement areas for multiple players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":62211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_pfeai_meta_description":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10],"tags":[23956,23771,23130,23279,22810,23633,802,24326,23748,24535,24434,664,24603,1967,24324,23700,319],"class_list":["post-72446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-news","tag-amari-gainer","tag-andre-borregales","tag-brenden-schooler","tag-bryce-baringer","tag-chad-muma","tag-christian-elliss","tag-free-agency","tag-futures-contract","tag-julian-ashby","tag-khalil-jacobs","tag-kj-britt","tag-mike-vrabel","tag-namdi-obiazor","tag-nfl-draft","tag-otis-reese","tag-robert-spillane","tag-special-teams"],"yoast_head":"\nMORSE: Patriots Position Analysis - 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