It's no secret that the Patriots are among the teams that will likely need to prioritize adding a dominant pass rusher in this year's draft, and they are consistently linked to some of the top talent available near the end of the first round.
Much of that has to do with the fact that they didn't add the caliber of talent needed in free agency, and instead, let their most productive player walk rather than re-sign him. Because of that, they were linked to several of the biggest names looking for new contracts in free agency, Jaelan Phillips being one of them, but they missed out on every single one or didn't show real interest in the first place.
The former Eagles starter signed a massive contract with the Panthers last month, and that appears to be the biggest reason for analysts believing the Patriots made the right decision to pass on Phillips, despite their apparent interest.
There was speculation that they were going to pursue the pass rusher heavily, but given the price tag, it's clear they dodged a potential disaster.
It's looking more and more like the Patriots were wise to pass on signing Jaelan Phillips
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report said as much when listing the ten worst free agent signings of the 2026 offseason, with Phillips fitting that label mostly due to his new contract not matching the kind of production he's had through his career thus far.
There's no doubt that the defense would've been better with Phillips on the roster, but it's also clear that his contract would've been a big problem at some point in his tenure.
"Of the five biggest contracts given out in free agency this year, three went to edge-rushers, with Jaelan Phillips getting the biggest of the lot when the Carolina Panthers gave the 26-year-old a four-year, $120 million contract.
Thirty million a season is a lot to give a player whose career high in sacks (8.5) came as a rookie with the Miami Dolphins in 2021."
Phillips is certainly a talented player, but it's probably better that the Patriots chose to spend their money elsewhere and, hopefully, bring in a rookie prospect who can give them that kind of performance at a much cheaper rate.
If that doesn't happen, then they'll have to be willing to dish out that kind of money next year to get the kind of pass rusher their defense desperately needs. It will only look worse if Phillips goes on to have an impressive season in Carolina.
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