Contact extensions for your best young players is a topic of importance for every NFL Team. They impact not only your on-field performance but also your financial situation. Bad decisions on extensions are ominous signs for your on-field product.
The 2024 offseason was an abject failure and among the worst in the team's history. It was riddled with poor decisions, and among them were numerous big-money contract extensions, most of which ultimately failed.
After a dismal 2023 season, the New England Patriots offered big-money extensions to several players. Most, absent Brenden Schooler, were 2024 disappointments. They included guard Mike Onwenu and safeties Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers. Others, such as David Andrews, Ja'Whaun Bentley, and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, are no longer with the team.
Bleacher Report has Marcus Jones as the Pats' most important contract extension after 2025
Bleacher Report's Mo Moton has suggested the most important players on each NFL team for contract extensions after 2025. He offered Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones.
"In three years with the Patriots, Jones has done a bit of everything: line up as a slot cornerback, play boundary cornerback, take snaps at safety, return kicks and punts and catch passes at wide receiver. He's the definition of an NFL Swiss Army knife. Though he will play under a new coaching staff, executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf has been with the team since 2020 and knows how valuable the versatile playmaker is in various roles."
About 25 Patriots will be free agents after the 2025 season. A few will be of note. They include Jones, Cole Strange, Jack Gibbens, Austin Hooper, Vederian Lowe, Alex Austin, and K'Lavon Chaisson. Marcus Jones is the cream of the crop, by far.
Marcus Jones could be more important as a pass-catcher
Not many 2026 Patriots free agents are noteworthy contributors. Without a doubt, Jones is the best of the bunch. The 26-year-old is a smaller player at 5'8" and 188 pounds, but he can play. After part-time work and an injury-riddled 2023, he had a breakout season of sorts in 2024, playing in 14 games and starting nine at cornerback.
Jones notched 58 tackles with 10 passes defended and two interceptions. He's a solid if unspectacular cornerback. He also serves as a punt returner. Yet, Jones's most remarkable statistic is as a Mike-Vrabel-like pass receiver. In his career, he has been targeted five times and has five receptions. Yet, remarkably, he has averaged 19.2 yards per catch and has a touchdown.
While five catches do not make a huge sample, the 19.2 yards per catch is an eye-catching statistic. It screams "explosiveness". Unfortunately, the Patriots have been willing to let this potential offensive star play defense, while his obvious offensive abilities go untapped.
Marcus Jones, as Mo Moton suggests, is clearly the most important Patriots 2026 free agent to sign to a contract extension. Yet, the fact remains, Jones has far more potential as an offensive playmaker than he ever will as a cornerback. Will Mike Vrabel choose to unlock that potential, or just let it go to waste as his predecessors have? Let's see how good a coach Vrabel really is.