Patriots Add Defensive Back Jalen Mills In NFL Free Agency

The New England Patriots added a new player to the roster, and this time head coach Bill Belichick signed a defensive back. It’s always great to see a new face joining the storied organization.

New England offered free-agent defensive back Jalen Mills a four-year deal worth $24 million. According to Mills’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, Mills will get $9 million in guaranteed money. Rosenhaus shared details of the deal with Adam Schefter from ESPN.

Patriots sign defensive back to revamp the roster

Mills spent the first five years of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. The team selected him in the seventh round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

The veteran measures at 6 feet, 191 pounds. Mills will soon turn 27 and played all over the Eagles’ defensive backfield. The cornerback was able to log 329 snaps in the box, 236 at free safety, 227 at wide corner, 182 at slot corner, and 39 on the defensive line this past season as confirmed by Pro Football Focus. The best part? Belichick values versatile defensive players.

The cornerback missed 15 games in 2018 and 2019. However, he played in all but one game in 2020. Mills finished the season with 74 tackles, one interception, three passes defended, 1 ½ sacks, four tackles for loss and five quarterback hits. When it comes to coverage, Mills allowed 30 catches on 49 targets for 374 yards and two touchdowns with one interception as cofnirmed by Pro Football Focus.

Mills is super excited about his new deal. He took to Twitter to share his excitement. Of course, the veteran can’t sign his deal until the new NFL year opens on Wednesday.

Belichick is entering the offseason with issues at cornerback. J.C. Jackson and Jason McCourty are set to become free agents. Veteran cornerback Stephon Gilmore may be traded somewhere else. They look really well at safety though. Devin McCourty, Kyle Dugger, Adrian Phillips, and slot/safety hybrids Jonathan Jones and Myles Bryant are under contract this season. Veteran Patrick Chung will probably join his teammates. He opted-out of the 2020 season due to COVID concerns.

The Patriots are really busy at the moment. In the first four hours after the start of the legal tampering period, Belichick worked on his deals with tight end Jonnu Smith, defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, and edge rusher Matt Judon.