The New England Patriots enter the 2025 offseason with many holes on their roster. The 2024 version was one of the worst in the NFL. Wholesale changes are required for new Head Coach, Mike Vrabel.
Having traded their two best edge players, Matt Judon and Joshua Uche in 2024, the cupboard is bare. They have no edge players of NFL quality on the roster. Here, we’ll explore four options that may be available in free agency.
Let’s target the top four edge players identified by the uber-respected scouting group, Pro Football Focus (PFF), and quote their brief notes on each. It provides a glimpse of the best edge players available in free agency.
PFFs list of free agent edge players is good place to start
Fourth on PFF’s list is Malcolm Koonce of the Las Vegas Raiders. The 26-year-old, 6’3”, 250-pound Koonce enters his fourth NFL season. He missed 2024 with an injury. His 2023 stats were superb. Koonce notched 43 total stops, nine tackles for loss (TFLs), eight sacks, and three forced fumbles in 2023. The Patriots should pounce if they can get anywhere near a team-friendly deal.
"If Koonce hadn’t suffered a season-ending knee injury before 2024 began and instead carried over his momentum from the back half of 2023, he could’ve been squarely within the top 10 of our list. Perhaps the silver lining, if there is one, to getting injured so early in the year is that Koonce should be healthier entering the free agency period than if he got hurt during the season. A short-term deal where Koonce can hit the market again in 2026, or sign an extension one year into a two-year deal à la recent edge defenders like Uchenna Nwosu, could make sense."
PFF’s third-rated edge is the Jets, Haasan Reddick. The 30-year-old, 6’1”, 240-pounder played in only 10 games for the Jets in 2024 due to a holdout. His stats reflected it. He notched a meager nine total stops, two tackles for loss, and one sack. Yet, from 2020-2023, he had 50.5 sacks to his credit.
This may be an opportunity for the Patriots. Having Reddick ready to wreak havoc twice a year against the Jets and the other AFC East teams could be what they need to begin a march to the playoffs.
PFF notes this about him,
"Reddick's absence from the Jets to start the season leaves questions about how interested other teams will be in his services in 2025. His standout 2022 season featured career highs in both PFF overall grade and sack total, and he was a reliable pass-rusher from 2018 to 2023, earning a PFF pass-rushing grade of at least 65.0 each season, before logging a career-low 52.9 mark this year."
PFF’s top 2 edge players in free agency
PFF’s second-rated 2025 edge is Malcolm Sweat of the Eagles. Only 27, the 6’5”, 265-pound Sweat is a seven-year veteran. He logged 47 total stops, nine tackles for loss, two passed defended, and eight sacks in 2024. He’s a plug-and-play starter for the Patriots.
PFF comments about Sweat,
"Sweat signed an early extension with the Eagles in 2021 and then a revised one-year contract for 2024, which he made the most of to the tune of eight sacks in the regular season. With the departure of Haason Reddick and the unfortunate injury to Eagles legend Brandon Graham, Sweat had plenty of runway to boost his stock — and he did so on his way to a 75.7 PFF overall grade in the regular season."
Read More: Proposed trade for top pass rusher DOA for Patriots even before free agency
PFF’s top edge in free agency is Khalil Mack from the LA Chargers. The 34-year-old enters his 12th season after a bit of a down year. In 2024, Mack had 39 stops, six tackles for loss, and six sacks. Yet, he added nine passes defended and two forced fumbles to his totals. Mack remains a top playmaker, and playmakers win games.
PFF comments on Mack,
"Mack has enjoyed a late-career resurgence over the past two seasons, proving he can still be a force as a pass-rusher and a run defender. His 88 quarterback pressures in 2023 marked his highest total since 2016, and his 86.3 PFF pass-rushing grade was his best since 2020. Mack’s situation entering free agency is eerily reminiscent of Von Miller‘s back in 2022, as his six-year, $120 million contract with the Buffalo Bills was more like three years and $52.5 million, in reality."
Those are four accomplished edge players who may enter free agency. The Patriots need to add several edge players this offseason. Adding a top veteran in free agency and rookies in the draft is an optimum way to address this position.