The New England Patriots have needs all over the field as they approach the NFL draft on April 23rd. One of the most pressing issues is at the edge on defense. They essentially swapped outgoing free agent K'Lavon Chaisson for Dre'Mont Jones and added nothing else up to now.
NESN's Daniel Fisher has an interesting and cost-effective free agent signing for the Patriots to alleviate a need at edge. It's Derek Barnett, most recently of the Houston Texans.
Edge is a big need since the other presumed starting pass rushers, Harold Landry III, will be entering his age-30 season, and Jones is 29. An infusion of youth at the position is required.
That notwithstanding, adding another veteran (Barnett is also 29) to deploy while the young players acclimatize to the NFL may be a nice short-term solution to a major need. Injuries happen, and with Landry having knee issues in 2025, adding another experienced NFL edge isn't a bad idea at all.
Derek Barnett would be a short term fix for the Patriots' defense
The Patriots had two major imperatives above all others in the 2026 offseason. Both concerned sacks. On offense, they needed to get better at preventing them and on defense at producing them. They've done a poor job at both thus far. Free agency was a dud on both accounts.
Adding Barnett on the edge won't eliminate the need for drafting additional talent, but, as Fisher suggests, it wouldn't hurt to bring him aboard for a year for relatively short money. He'd also be reunited with another former Eagles Super-Bowl winner, Milton Williams.
"The New England Patriots should consider bringing in another veteran pass rusher before the NFL draft at the end of April, and Derek Barnett could be a great fit. Barnett has been in the NFL for nine seasons...Pro Football Focus ranked Barnett as the 58th pass rusher out of 115 last season, placing him 39th in pass rushing and 55th in run defense.
There’s no reason why New England shouldn’t consider bringing in Barnett on a one-year contract, especially since Spotrac recently listed his market value at about $4.4 million a year."
Barnett had eight tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, and a decent five sacks for the Texans in 2025. He's no superstar, but he'd give Mike Vrabel another veteran to deploy at the edge.
That signing wouldn't preclude the need for Mike Vrabel to still add two young, better edge players in the draft. Yet with his lackluster free agency at the position, Vrabel could do worse than to sign Barnett.
Add us as a preferred source on Google