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Patriots: 3 players who have offered almost nothing in 2021

By Jerry Trotta

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 31: N'Keal Harry #1, Ted Karras #67, and Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots walk off the field after the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 at SoFi Stadium on October 31, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 31: N'Keal Harry #1, Ted Karras #67, and Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots walk off the field after the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers 27-24 at SoFi Stadium on October 31, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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Patriots, Jalen Mills
Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports /

After a shaky start, the New England Patriots took care of business against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Though he wasn’t caught saying it on the sidelines, Sam Darnold was once again seeing ghosts against New England, as he finished 16-of-33 for 172 and three interceptions, one of which JC Jackson returned for a touchdown.

It was a dominant defensive performance from the Patriots, who improved to 5-4 and one game back of Buffalo in the AFC East.

All things considered, the Patriots being smack in the middle of the AFC playoff picture is really all fans could ask for through nine games with a rookie quarterback in Mac Jones running the offense.

Having said that, New England is churning out wins in spite of some players who haven’t shown up at all this season. Now that we’ve arrived at the halfway point of the year, we thought it’d be a good idea to shine on a light on these no-shows.

3 Patriots who’ve contributed almost nothing in 2021

3. Jalen Mills

The Patriots’ decision to give Jalen Mills a four-year, $24 million contract ($9 mil guaranteed) in free agency was head-scratching at the time, and it’s looked like a miscalculation through the first nine weeks of the season.

The only reason Mills didn’t land higher on this list is because he’s actually offered more than nothing. By that, we mean 28 tackles and three pass breakups.

Outside of that, he’s been a disaster in New England’s secondary, which has surprisingly held up well without Stephon Gilmore after a rough start.

For context, Mills has allowed quarterbacks to complete over 60% of passes thrown in his direction, per Pro Football Focus. As a result, those quarterbacks flaunt a 118.5 passer rating against him. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse than that, what if we told you he’s conceding 12.3 yards per reception?

It’s not that Mills is just getting beat. He’s getting beat for big plays. Remember the Cowboys’ walk-off win in overtime at Gillette Stadium a few weeks back? Mills was cooked by CeeDee Lamb on the game-winning score.

The 27-year-old still has plenty of time to turn it around, but he’s been undeniably one of the Patriots’ most disappointing performers this year.

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