The New England Patriots are committed to retaining linebacker Christian Elliss for at least one more season. Ahead of the 2025 free agency period, the Patriots are planning to extend a qualifying offer to Elliss, who is set to become a restricted free agent.
The team plans to tender Elliss on a deal worth $3.263 million, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Elliss has spent the past two seasons in New England and is coming off the best year of his four-year career.
Elliss’ 80 total tackles in 2024 were nearly four times as much as his previous career high. His tackle count was third on the team, behind Jahlani Tavai and Kyle Dugger. He also recorded 1.5 sacks, the first of his career. Elliss’ sudden emergence came in large part due to injuries to traditional starter Ja’Whaun Bentley, who missed all but two games on the year.
A former undrafted rookie, Elliss was traded to the Patriots in 2023 from the Philadelphia Eagles. He entered the league in 2021 and scarcely saw the field through his first three seasons.
Elliss was one of the few positives of the Patriots’ defense in 2024 that was otherwise a disappointment. While the team struggled all around, first-year head coach Jerod Mayo, a former linebacker, was expected to bring a gritty defensive approach to the team.
Patriots’ defense undergoing full transformation in 2025
While the Patriots will retain most of its on-field personnel, including Christian Elliss, they will otherwise undergo a complete evolution under new head coach Mike Vrabel. As one of his first moves, Vrabel hired former assistant Terrell Williams as his defensive coordinator in 2025.
Vrabel, also a former linebacker for the Patriots, typically takes a defensive approach to his teams. However, in preparation for his return to the NFL, Vrabel hired esteemed coaches Doug Marrone, Josh McDaniels and Thomas Brown to his offensive staff.
Most of the team’s focus entering 2025 will be on its offensive development with quarterback Drake Maye, but Vrabel is also tasked with fixing a porous defensive unit. New England ranked bottom-10 in nearly every major defensive category in 2024, including dead last in sacks and 28th in forcing turnovers.
With his hiring, Vrabel will become the Patriots’ third different head coach in as many years. He replaced Mayo, who lasted just one season as Bill Belichick’s successor. In turn, Williams will also be the team’s third different defensive coordinator in as many seasons.
The post Patriots make final free agency decision on 80-tackle LB appeared first on ClutchPoints.
