The torrential downpour of green bills continued to fall on New England Patriots’ in-house pending free agents with the team agreeing to a three-year extension with linebacker Jahlani Tavai on Tuesday.
Per ESPN’s Mike Reiss and Adam Schefter, the new deal is worth $15 million in base value, but it’ll carry a maximum value of $21 million.
It’s a much-deserved extension for Tavai, one of the NFL’s most underrated linebackers last season. He routinely made plays for the Patriots’ defense with 110 total tackles, one sack, five pass deflections, two interceptions and two forced fumbles.
An argument could be made that he should have received his first Pro Bowl nod last season. It’s hard to stand out on a 4-13 team, but Tavai made every effort to do so for the Patriots.
It isn’t his fault everyone wasn’t paying attention.
Tavai staying in New England for the foreseeable future helps ensure the defense will continue to be productive. The team also extended Christian Barmore, Kyle Dugger and Anfernee Jennings in the offseason. So the foundation for the future has been set at every level on the Patriots’ defense.
Tavai’s 86.6 overall defensive grade by Pro Football Focus ranked in the top-10 of all NFL linebackers. Perhaps the best part is the fact that he is an ascending NFL talent at 27 years old.
So the Patriots are locking up a player trending towards being elite before the rest of the market gets to pitch him offers in 2025. Tavai gets the security of having a contract in place, and the Patriots get the security of keeping a really talented player on their roster.
It’s one of the biggest win-wins of the offseason.