Even with the NFL offseason in full swing, the New England Patriots are keeping busy. After parting ways with linebacker Sione Takitaki on Wednesday, the team re-signed a pair of offensive linemen on Thursday: offensive tackle Demontrey Jacobs and center Ben Brown will both be back with the Patriots in 2025.

Jacobs and Brown were both headed for exclusive rights free agency. Instead, they put their signatures under one-year tenders in order to stay put rather than enter the open market in mid-March.

Let’s assess what the signings mean for the team.

First steps taken

The Patriots re-signing Jacobs and Brown means they now have 13 offensive linemen under contract for the 2025 season. While that gives them a solid basis to work with, especially considering that teams have 90 roster spots available during the offseason, the moves are just the first steps being taken by the team along its offensive line.

Fact is, after all, the line was a major issue in 2024 and investments beyond low-level re-signings will be necessary. What those will look like remains to be seen, but anything other than New England targeting both the outside and the inside in free agency and/or the draft would be a shocker — even with Jacobs and Brown remaining in the fold.

Increased competition

Jacobs and Brown returning at the very least means that two more players — both of whom offering starting experience — will be part of the Patriots’ offensive line mix heading into 2025. While the two are probably best suited to serve as developmental backup options at this point in their respective careers, having them around in case of emergency is not the worst thing considering the current alternatives.

The Patriots’ offensive line, after all, looks like this right now:

Offensive tackles (5): Vederian Lowe (59), Demontrey Jacobs (75), Caedan Wallace (70), Sidy Sow (62), Caleb Jones (76)

Interior offensive line (8): David Andrews (60), Michael Onwenu (71), Cole Strange (69), Layden Robinson (64), Ben Brown (77), Jake Andrews (67), Lecitus Smith (68), Tyrese Robinson (65)

Free agents (1): Lester Cotton (RFA)

Out of the 13 signed lineman listed here, only one — guard/tackle hybrid Michael Onwenu — can be considered a safe bet to be part of the 53-man team come the regular season. The other 12, meanwhile, will have to fight for spots on the team with whoever else will be joining the room over the next few months.

That includes Jacobs and Brown, despite the new deals they just signed.

Relatively minor cap impact

The Patriots tendering Jacobs and Brown as exclusive rights free agents means that their cap hits for 2025 will depend on their number of credited seasons. In Jacobs’ case that is one, resulting in a cap hit of $960,000; Brown has two such seasons on his résumé for a cap number of $1.03 million.

Both of those sums are equal to their non-guaranteed salaries, which means that removing them from the roster would not create any dead cap. The two deals do, however, impact the Patriots’ cap space under the Top 51 offseason provision: both will move lower-cost players from the list, resulting in a net loss of cap space of $310,000.

For New England, that loss is merely a drop in the bucket. According to cap expert Miguel Benzan, the team is still $134.8 million under a projected $279.5 million salary cap.

Free agency class getting smaller

Entering the offseason, the Patriots had 17 players set to enter free agency. That number has since gone down, with Jacobs and Brown the latest to be removed from the list.

They are joining defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. and wide receiver JaQuae Jackson, who both signed new contracts earlier this month. In addition, the team also released veteran offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor.

With those five players taken care of, New England has 12 free agents left.

On offense, quarterback Jacoby Brissett, running back JaMycal Hasty, tight end Austin Hooper and offensive lineman Lester Cotton are in need of new contracts. Defensively, linemen Deatrich Wise Jr. and Daniel Ekuale, linebackers Oshane Ximines and Christian Elliss, cornerback Jonathan Jones and Alex Austin, and safety Jaylinn Hawkins are headed for the open market. The same is true for kicker Joey Slye.