The Patriots have gotten ahead of things in internal free agency this year, quickly making a pair of re-signings bringing back special teamer Matthew Slater and offensive tackle Conor McDermott last month. Thursday morning, with less than a week to go until league-wide free agency begins, the Patriots added a third player to that list.

As first reported by ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the team has signed interior offensive lineman James Ferentz to a one-year deal. The contract includes a base salary of $1.165 million.

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• According to Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, Ferentz’s deal will count $940K against the cap. It also includes just $150K in guaranteed money. The move takes the Patriots’ cap number to $31,838,852 million.

  2023 will be Ferentz’s seventh year in the Patriots organization. He joined the team in 2017 and spent that full season on the practice squad. In the six years since he’s gone back-and-forth between the practice squad and active roster, playing in 39 games while making nine starts as a center and guard.

  Last season, Ferentz appeared in 12 games for the Patriots, the most he has since 2019. He started three of those games when starting center David Andrews missed time due to injuries.

  With Ferentz re-signed, the Patriots now have 18 pending free agents. That full list can be found here.

• Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at [email protected].

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