The Patriots have a small free agent class, but that class includes a number of players who held key roles in the team’s surprise run to Super Bowl LX, such as defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson and defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga. As Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald relays, New England HC Mike Vrabel said he would love to retain Chaisson and Tonga, as well as offensive tackle Vederian Lowe.
Chaisson, 26, will come with a notable price tag. The former first-round pick of the Jaguars never reached his ceiling in Jacksonville and, after a stopover with the Raiders in 2024, joined the Pats via a modest one-year pact last offseason. Chaisson posted a career-high 7.5 sacks for New England in the regular season and then added three more during the club’s postseason march. Two front office executives from other teams tell ESPN’s Mike Reiss they expect Chaisson to land a contract paying him between $8MM-$11MM annually.
Like Chaisson, Tonga signed a one-year accord with the Patriots last March. After appearing in 14 games (eight starts) and enjoying a career-best 40% snap share in 2025, Tonga is due for a raise, with Mark Daniels and Karen Guregian of MassLive.com reporting that the 29-year-old is expected to have multiple suitors if he hits the open market. Daniels and Guregian say Tonga and the Pats were close on an extension before the 2025 playoffs got underway but were unable to strike an agreement. Tonga enjoyed a strong postseason – which included the first sack of his career – and his price tag has gone up as a result. It seems New England’s most recent proposal will not be enough to keep the BYU product in Foxborough.
While Lowe’s run as the Pats’ full-time starter at left tackle in 2024 did not go well, he showed improvement filling in for an injured Will Campbell last season. It stands to reason Vrabel would want a known commodity to remain on the roster in a swing tackle capacity.
We previously heard safety Jaylinn Hawkins, another out-of-contract contributor, wants to return to the Patriots, and Kyed confirms the interest is mutual. EVP of player personnel Eliot Wolf, who announced last week that the team had commenced contract discussions with its pending FAs, also said he would welcome Hawkins back to the fold (though he did add that Hawkins has earned the right to see what the market could have in store for him).
Hawkins spent the past two seasons in New England, but the team’s Vrabel-led staff was willing to give him a larger role than the former regime. Hawkins ended up leaping both Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers on the depth chart en route to a strong season. The 28-year-old started all 15 of his appearances, finishing with 71 tackles, six passes defensed, and 1.5 sacks.
Since they just won the AFC and have starting quarterback and MVP runner-up Drake Maye on a rookie deal, it is fair to wonder whether the Patriots will take some big swings in the free agent and/or trade markets. However, Reiss says Wolf, Vrabel & Co. do not see themselves as being one player away from a return to the Super Bowl, meaning they are not necessarily inclined to pony up a massive trade package for an established star.
New England has been connected to Raiders DE Maxx Crosby and Eagles WR A.J. Brown, who both profile as trade candidates, in recent weeks. Vrabel and Wolf, though, have reiterated the team’s commitment to the draft and supplementing their existing core, thereby suggesting they may not have the appetite for a Crosby or Brown blockbuster.