Patriots find trade partner before releasing Marte Mapu

On Tuesday morning it was reported the New England Patriots were planning on releasing linebacker Marte Mapu. A few hours later though, it was reported the Patriots found a trade partner for Mapu before officially cutting him.

According to Jonathan M Alexander of The Houston Chronicle, who first reported the trade, the teams will swap 'late round picks' in the 2027 NFL Draft. ESPN's Mike Reiss later added that the Patriots will get a sixth-round pick and send back a seventh. Houston has/had two sixth-round picks in that draft (their own and one from the Browns), and it wasn't immediately clear which one will be involved in the trade.

That gives the Patriots three assigned sixth-round picks in 2027. Their own, the one they'll get from Houston, and one acquired from the Saints in a pick-swap trade involving wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk.

Mapu, 26, was drafted by the Patriots in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Sacramento State. He moved between linebacker (his college position) and safety during his tenure with the Patriots, playing in 44 games with 10 starts.

Last season he took on a significant special teams role, including being the personal protector on the punt unit. He played a career-high 255 special teams snaps, and a career-low 120 defensive snaps in 2025.

This is not the first time the Patriots have moved on from a linebacker this offseason. Jahlani Tavai was also released last month, and Jack Gibbens wasn't given an RFA tender and left in free agency. They have added one as well, signing K.J. Britt to a one-year deal.

Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said at the Combine linebacker is a position the team would like to address in the draft. They certainly have snaps to fill at both linebacker and on special teams. You can check out our linebacker preview for this year's NFL Draft class here.