Patriots letting cornerback hit unrestricted free agency

The New England Patriots are in line to let at least one of their restricted free agents test the open market. On Wednesday night, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the team will not be tendering cornerback Alex Austin ahead of the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. on Wednesday March 11.

Austin, 24, was set to be a restricted free agent (RFA) entering his fourth NFL season. Teams have a chance to tender RFAs at varying levels, which gives them at minimum a chance to match any contract the player agrees to with another team. His year's minimum RFA tender is worth $3.52 million according to OverTheCap.com. Higher level tenders come with draft compensation if the offer is not matched by the original team, but also cost more money.

Teams have until the start of the new league year to officially place tenders on their RFAs. By not doing so, Austin will now become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins. He seemingly confirmed the report Wednesday night, tweeting "Forever love in New England! God’s Plan… looking forward to what he has next."

Originally drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2023 draft out of Oregon State, Austin spent time in Buffalo and with the Houston Texans before being signed by the Patriots in November of his rookie year. He played a total of 26 games during his time in New England mainly as a reserve corner and special teams player. Austin spent time on IR each of the last two years.

The Patriots still have four restricted free agents they'll need to decide on by next Wednesday. Quarterback Tommy DeVito, offensive tackle Yasir Durant, defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy, and middle linebacker Jack Gibbens will all need a tender if the team doesn't want them hitting free agency.

Not tendering a player doesn't rule out a team from re-signing that player. However, they would have to negotiate against any other interested teams without a guarantee to match, just like unrestricted free agents.

All three would likely be candidates for the minimum tender. In total the team has 14 pending free agents - that list can be found here.