Patriots re-sign safety Jaylinn Hawkins

On Wednesday night the New England Patriots took care of another one of their own free agents, re-signing safety Jaylinn Hawkins. He's returning on a one-year deal worth up to $2.25 million, according to ESPN's Mike Reiss.

Hawkins, 27, first joined the Patriots last year on a one-year deal. He played in all 17 games in 2024 including seven starts, recording 48 tackles with three for a loss and a pass breakup. Prior to joining the Patriots Hawkins had spent time with the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers. He initially entered the league as a fourth-round pick of the Chargers in 2020.

Last year Hawkins played 54.7% of the Patriots' total defensive snaps, which was second among safeties behind Kyle Dugger. Hawkins and Dugger are both back in the safety room along with Jabrill Peppers (who had a 96% usage rate in the six games he did play), Marte Mapu, Dell Pettus, and Brenden Schooler.

With Hawkins re-signed, the Patriots have just four internal free agents remaining in running back JaMycal Hasty, defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale, outside linebacker Oshane Ximines, and kicker Joey Slye. The team lost two of its free agents earlier in the day on Wednesday, when Deatrich Wise and Jonathan Jones signed with the Washington Commanders.

For more free agency updates, check out our Offseason Hub free agency tracker.