Van Noy, Karras return
CB Jackson tendered for 2nd-rounder
The Patriots entered free agency Monday with as many roster holes as any NFL team that isn’t engaged in a down-to-the-studs rebuild.
Forty-eight hours later, most of those holes have been plugged.
Free-agent linebacker Kyle Van Noy announced Wednesday night he is returning to New England.
“Pats Nation,” Van Noy began in a video posted to social media, “I’m back.”
Van Noy has agreed to a two-year contract worth up to $13.2 million, a source told the Herald.
PATRIOTS NOTEBOOK
He was released by the Dolphins earlier this month after leaving New England to sign a four-year freeagent deal last offseason. He instantly sharpens the Pats’ pass rush and gives them quality depth in their front seven. Van Noy projects as the favorite to start at outside linebacker opposite fellow free-agent addition Matthew Judon, a twotime Pro Bowler.
Van Noy is entering his age-30 season after collecting six sacks and two forced fumbles last year in Miami. Over his final season in New England, Van Noy recorded 56 tackles, 6.5 sacks and three forced fumbles. That year, he was a central piece of the league’s No. 1 defense.
Van Noy joins a linebackers room already occupied by Judon, Dont’a Hightower, Chase Winovich and Josh Uche among others. The Pats’ offseason additions have turned the position from 2020 weakness into a potential strength.
The Patriots’ first move Wednesday was to fill a glaring weakness in their offensive line, reaching terms with center Ted Karras on a one-year, $4 million deal, sources told the Herald. Karras is expected to start, indicating the Pats will not re-sign incumbent starter David Andrews. Like Van Noy, Karras started last season for the Dolphins after spending the previous four in New England.
Karras replaced Andrews over the 2019 season when the latter was placed on injured reserve with blood clots. He entered the league as a sixth-round pick out of Illinois in 2016. Karras was the first dent the Pats put into their $20 million in remaining cap space Wednesday. The second was cornerback J.C. Jackson.
The team tendered Jackson, a restricted free agent, at a second-round level Wednesday afternoon. As it stands, Jackson will play the 2021 season for the Patriots on a one-year, $3.384 million contract. The 25-yearold cover artist can negotiate with other teams, though the Pats have the right to match.
If Jackson signs an outside offer sheet and leaves, the Pats will receive a second-round pick from his new team as compensation.
Jackson played 84% of the team’s defensive snaps last season over 13 games. He finished second in the NFL with nine interceptions, a career high, and also set career bests in tackles (40) and pass deflections (14). Jackson is a strong mancoverage corner, whose game-to-game performance was volatile at times.
Around his interceptions, Jackson gave up multiple touchdowns in primetime games against the Jets and Bills. He first emerged as an undrafted rookie in 2018 and rose quickly to start across from All-Pro corner Stephon Gilmore. Jackson projects as a starter for most NFL defenses, ideally in a man-to-man scheme.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Pats safety Cody Davis announced his return on a two-year contract by posting a video on social media. Davis finished second on the team in special teams tackles and blocked a field goal last year, his first in New England. Davis figures to be a low-cost signing as a core special teamer.
Not including the contracts for Karras and Davis, the structures of which are not known publicly, the Pats will carry $16.9 million in cap space entering Thursday.
Here are the Herald’s grades for the Patriots’ freeagent moves Wednesday:
LB Kyle Van Noy
Contract: 2 years, $13.2 million
Grade: A
Analysis: The structure and guarantees of Van Noy’s new deal are not yet known, but the Pats appear to have secured tremendous value here.
Van Noy brings experience, versatility and pass rush to a linebackers room already occupied by players with overlapping traits. He averaged better than two pressures per games last season in Miami.
His return should send the Patriots’ pressure and sack rates back to the league average — if not higher — in 2021, after they dropped into the bottom 10 last season.
Between the proven veterans and promising young players, one of these linebackers should settle into rotational pass-rushing role with high efficiency, a luxury the Pats couldn’t afford last year. The beauty of depth. This signing makes all the sense in the world.
C Ted Karras
Contract: 1 year, $4 million
Grade: A
Analysis: Karras played more than 1,000 snaps starting last season in Miami, where he graded out as the league’s 17th-best center, per Pro Football Focus grades. His addition gives the Pats a great value signing and a solid starter in the middle of their offensive line. Karras is a dependable, proven and a well-rounded player. He also played 1,000 snaps as a replacement starter for the Patriots in 2019.
CB J.C. Jackson
Contract: 1 year, $3.384 million (RFA second-round tender)
Grade: A
Analysis: Another savvy move. The Pats saved more than $1 million by choosing a second-round tender instead of a first-rounder. By waiting to tender Jackson, the Pats allowed the top unrestricted free-agent cornerbacks to soak up money from teams most in need of good corners.
That shrunk Jackson’s market, making him more likely to return in 2021.
And if a team wants to ink Jackson to a long-term deal, it should come at a discount, given the limited cap space around the league. The Patriots have waited on extension talks with Jackson and can now allow an outside team to set a low bar. Then, they either match and keep him or let Jackson walk and receive a second-round pick.
That pick would represent significant draft capital, allowing them to more easily trade up for a quarterback or select a replacement corner.
The risk is, of course, an outside teams blows Jackson away with an offer, he walks and the Pats have lost significant leverage in their talks with Gilmore, who will either receive an extension or be traded this offseason.
Because without Jackson, it’s Gilmore, Jonathan Jones, Joejuan Williams and Myles Bryant on the depth chart. And that’s it.
ST Cody Davis
Grade: TBD
Analysis: Davis’ return provides more insurance against the possibility special teams captain Matthew Slater retires this offseason. The 31-year-old joined New England last year as one of the best special teams players in the league and only strengthened that reputation in 2020.
Re-signing Davis was a no-brainer in a free agency period when the team was flush with cap space.