The Patriots are staring at a pass-rush problem that’s impossible to ignore, and the timing could not be worse. With Week 1 bringing a rematch against the Seattle Seahawks, New England’s healthy edge group is thin enough to raise alarms on its own. Beyond free-agent Dre’Mont Jones, who is hardly being sold as an elite rusher, there isn’t a proven answer on the roster.
That leaves a lot on the shoulders of players who are still trying to find their footing. Elijah Ponder, an undrafted free agent, is being asked to make a leap from depth piece to starter.
Second-round pick Gabe Jacas has also struggled to get going, with preseason performances that have only added to the concern after he missed the entire offseason program. And Harold Landry won’t be available to start the season, since he’ll open on the physically unable to perform list while recovering from knee surgery.
Given that mess, the idea of turning to Joey Bosa starts to make a lot more sense. Bosa spent the 2025 season on the other side of the AFC East with the Buffalo Bills, trying to slow down Drake Maye. Now he looks like the kind of veteran who could help solve a problem that has become too big to ignore in New England.
Bosa is not the same player who once lived in the annual Defensive Player of the Year conversation in Los Angeles, but that doesn’t mean he’s washed. He has not reached double-digit sacks since 2021, yet his five sacks in 2025 would have ranked third on the Patriots. That alone says plenty about the state of New England’s pass rush last season.
At this stage of his career, Bosa is more of a situational weapon than an every-down force. Still, the production is real: 77 sacks in 122 regular-season games. He also played 15 games for the Bills in 2025, his most since 2021, and showed he can still help a contender.
The Patriots’ need is obvious, and that makes the fit easy to see. The front office and coaching staff, led by Mike Vrabel, Eliot Wolf, Ryan Cowden, and John “Stretch” Streicher, can’t keep waiting around with the season about to begin. They already had a chance to be more aggressive in free agency or the trade market, and the unresolved Christian Gonzalez contract situation only adds another layer of unease.
A one-year, incentive-heavy deal for Bosa should be workable. Playing-time, sack, and playoff bonuses could give him upside, and New England has enough cap space that guaranteed money shouldn’t be the obstacle.
For Bosa, the move would send him from a team with a first-time head coach to a franchise led by a coach who won multiple Super Bowls as a player and nearly won one in his first season back in Foxboro.
That is why this feels like a move that helps both sides. The Patriots need a real pass rusher.
Bosa needs a place that makes sense. If New England leaves this hole unfilled, the back end of Zak Kuhr’s defense could be facing a long night in Seattle.
In Other News...
Patriots May Have Found The Missing Piece In Their Backfield
With Terrell Jennings and Lan Larison dealing with injuries and Jam Miller no longer in the mix, the Patriots had a clear need to add some depth to their backfield. They answered it by sending a 2028 seventh-round pick to Arizona for running back Corey Kiner, a move that gives the roster another option behind the top two runners and helps stabilize a position that had been thinned out quickly.
Kiner arrives with a reputation as a versatile back, the kind of player who can give New England something useful in multiple situations if he settles in quickly. The bigger question now is how much of a role he can carve out right away, but the Patriots at least found a practical answer to an immediate problem while keeping the cost low. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Suddenly Have A Real Week 1 Backfield Concern
The Patriots went into camp expecting Rhamondre Stevenson to head the backfield and TreVeyon Henderson to give the offense a different kind of burst, but the plan has gotten a little shakier as the opener approaches. Stevenson remains positioned as the lead back, while Corey Kiner also sits in the mix, and Hendersons status has become the part of the equation worth watching most closely.
Henderson is working back from an ankle injury he suffered late in training camp, and while he has been around team activities, his return timetable is still not clear. New England appears content to be cautious with him for now, which makes sense this time of year but also leaves the Patriots with a legitimate Week 1 backfield question until his availability comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Leave Key Practice Squad Spots Open For Familiar Names
The Patriots filled out most of their initial practice squad with a dozen additions, but they still left five spots open as roster-building after cutdown day continues to take shape. An International Pathway Player joined the group without counting against the 16-man limit, while veteran punter Mitch Wishnowsky landed on the practice squad after Bryce Baringer was placed on injured reserve.
For a team always fine-tuning the back end of the roster, the open slots leave room for familiar faces and practical depth at spots where injuries can quickly force movement. New England already has help lined up at offensive line, wide receiver and running back, and a few more players are either working back from injury or expected to arrive soon, so the final version of the practice squad may still look a little different before long. [Read more 🡒]