Patriots’ first re-signing of the 2025 offseason comes on defense
The Patriots took care of the first of their 17 pending free agents on Monday night, re-singing defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms.
The New England Patriots entered the 2025 offseason with 17 pending free agents. On Monday, we got our answers on two of them.
Monday started with the Patriots releasing offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor. Okorafor signed with the team last offseason but played in just one game before leaving the team.
That move was followed by the Patriots’ first re-signing of the offseason. As first reported by James Larsen of Pro Football Network, the team is bringing back defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms.
Prior to the deal, Pharms was scheduled to be an exclusive rights free agent. That would allow the Patriots to bring him back at a near-league minimum tender. Instead, the team is giving him a two-year deal. The overall value of the contract was not initially reported, but ESPN’s Mike Reiss shared that the contract includes a $100,000 signing bonus and $250,000 in guaranteed money.
Pharms, 28, had quite the journey to get to the NFL and the Patriots. He played at three different non-NCAA colleges in Sacramento City College, San Joaquin Delta College, and Friends University. His first professional opportunity was in arena football with the Wichita Force of the CIF, then with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL.
After the spring USFL season in 2022, Pharms signed with the Patriots ahead of training camp. He spent his first full season with the team on the practice squad, but has been on the active roster the last two years. In that time, he’s appeared in 28 games with five starts, recording 42 tackles and two sacks.
