The New England Patriots have a long offseason ahead of them after coming up short in Super Bowl LX. One decision will surround safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who is slated to be a free agent when the new league year officially kicks off next month.
Fortunately for Pats fans, it sounds very much like Hawkins wants to return to New England next season. While speaking to the media after the loss to the Seahawks, Hawkins said:
"I really want to come back."
This is music to Pats fans' ears because Hawkins was one of the best safeties in the NFL this past year, ranking fifth out of all of the eligible safeties in overall grade on PFF. If Hawkins wants to come back to New England and it wouldn't break the bank to bring him back, the Patriots shouldn't hesitate to re-sign him.
Patriots fans hopeful after Jaylinn Hawkins' latest comments
Hawkins was originally a fourth-round pick by the Falcons out of Cal in the 2020 NFL Draft and spent the first three and a half years of his career in Atlanta. He was traded to the Chargers during the 2023 season and then signed with the Patriots in 2024 and re-signed with them on a bargain $1.8 million deal last offseason. He'll be a little pricier than that this time around after the year he had.
The Patriots have plenty of cap space to work with this offseason but they'll have to decide if he's worth getting into a bidding war over. Spotrac projects Hawkins' market value to be worth a three-year deal worth roughly $24 million and an annual salary of $8.3 million. Is that money they'd be willing to drop on a safety or will they look to replace him in the draft instead?
The good news here is that Hawkins is straight up saying he'd like to return to New England. Maybe that would lead to him taking a hometown discount so that the Patriots can continue to build the rest of this roster and help them get back to the Super Bowl and win it all next time. We'll have to see how this saga plays out.