Patriots offseason preview: Uncertainty surrounding interior D-line
· Yahoo Sports
The New England Patriots made some major investments on the defensive side of the ball last offseason, and the results looked the part. That was especially true along the interior defensive line, where almost the entire group was turned over.
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The decision to make changes paid off: the defensive tackle spot was one of the best-performing on the Patriots’ roster in 2025. And yet, heading into the offseason, there are substantial questions.
Patriots interior defensive line depth chart
Milton Williams: Fresh off a Super Bowl win with the Eagles, Williams inked a four-year, $104 million contract with the Patriots. The second highest-paid DT in the NFL came with massive expectation, and he lived up to it: Williams was fantastic against both the run and the pass, and proved himself a key piece to New England’s defensive efforts. In total, he finished the season with 16 starts between regular season and playoffs as well as 6.5 regular season and playoff sacks among his 59 total quarterback pressures. | Signed (2029 UFA) | $28.4M cap hit
Christian Barmore: After a blood clots diagnosis disrupted his 2024 campaign, Barmore returned to full strength in 2025 and continued to be one of the most disruptive interior linemen in all of football. While less of a finisher than Williams, he still notched 3.0 sacks on the year and registered 58 pressures. He also showed some inconsistency in the ground game during his fellow starter’s late-season injury absence, but bounced back impressively in the postseason. Long story short, with both on the field the Patriots have a strong case for one of the top interior duos in the league. | Signed (2029 UFA) | $17.1M cap hit
Khyiris Tonga: While he joined the Patriot on a relatively modest one-year, $2.1 million contract, Tonga proved himself a vital part of New England’s defense. He started eight of his 17 games and notched a sack as well as 17 total disruptions, but his impact went far beyond the stat sheet: primarily a run defender, he was a key piece on early downs and in short yardage situations and set himself up nicely for a trip to free agency. | UFA
Cory Durden: An unheralded pickup after the NFL roster cutdown deadline, Durden began on the practice squad but was quickly promoted to the active roster. Once there, he developed into a solid rotational piece and next-man-up player behind Williams and Barmore. As such, he finished the season with 514 snaps — third behind the two starters — as well as 30 quarterback pressures. | Signed (2027 ERFA) | $1.15M cap hit
Joshua Farmer: Arriving in New England as a fourth-round selection in the draft, Farmer was a part-time player along New England’s interior D-line. This meant inconsistent opportunities, but still allowed him to get his feet wet against pro-level competition. He did have some good moments, too, and is the only player on this list to register a takeaway last season (a fumble recovery versus Buffalo in Week 5). | Signed (2029 UFA) | $1.17M cap hit
Leonard Taylor III: Taylor had his own personal rags-to-riches story in 2025. Starting off with the Jets, he was released in mid-October and with the team at 0-6. He joined the Patriots practice squad a short time later and developed into a valuable depth piece for the eventual AFC champions. In total, he played seven games for his new club — including all four postseason contests — and registered a crucial field goal block against the Broncos in the conference title round. | Signed (2027 ERFA) | $1.08M cap hit
Eric Gregory: An undrafted free agent originally with the Bengals, Gregory was claimed off waivers in the same series of transactions that saw former starting safety Jabrill Peppers get cut. His impact was not of a starter-level, though. The rookie saw action in seven games, mostly as an early-down option, before ending the year on injured reserve in January due to a knee issue. | Signed (2028 RFA) | $1.01M cap hit
Jeremiah Pharms Jr.: One year after playing 16 games with five starts and despite signing a two-year extension in the offseason, Pharms Jr. was limited to backup duty in 2025. He spent a majority of the season on the Patriots’ practice squad and finished with three in-game appearances as well as a career-low 47 defensive snaps. | Signed (2027 RFA) | $1.15M cap hit
Jaquelin Roy: Roy had some positive moments during his first season with the Patriots in 2024, but he did not get much of a chance in 2025. In early August, he was placed on season-ending injured reserve because of an undisclosed injury suffered during a 1-on-1 training camp drill. | RFA
Isaiah Iton: An offseason pickup after attending the Patriots’ rookie minicamp, Iton showed some promise early in the summer. However, a hip injury suffered in the second preseason game prevented him from making an impact in 2025; he was placed on season-ending IR in mid-August. | ERFA
Patriots offseason preview
The Patriots are going to have to make some decisions along their interior defensive line this offseason, starting with their free agents. A total of three players are out of contract, including part-time starter Khyiris Tonga.
While it appears re-signing the 29-year-old would be in New England’s best interest, a market that projects to be lively might make doing so a challenge. The team did come close to extending Tonga during the season, but the circumstances have since changed: he projects to be one of the Patriots’ most popular free agents this spring.
The other major decision coming up is related to Christian Barmore, and it’s a two-parter. First is a part of his salary becoming fully guaranteed: if he is on the Patriots’ roster by the third day of the league year on March 13, an extra $10 million will be guaranteed, which would make his entire $12 million salary guaranteed and bring his dead cap charge if released before June 1 to $22.8 million.
Under normal circumstances, the Patriots would not think about that move. However, Barmore is coming off a tumultuous season. While very good on the field, he also sat out one quarter of play against the Browns for disciplinary reasons, had to be calmed down by head coach Mike Vrabel heading into the locker room at the half against the Broncos, and more troubling than all of that is facing some legal issues: he will be arraigned on charges of strangulation and domestic assault on March 9.
While that date will be before the contract deadline, it seems unlikely to impact the Patriots’ decision one way or the other; Barmore is expected to plead “not guilty” to the charges. The ball is therefore in the team’s court, at least until a potential court ruling further down the line.
Outside of those admittedly massive questions, the Patriots are in decent shape at DT. Milton Williams projects to remain a top-tier player, with the depth options — Cory Durden, Joshua Farmer and Leonard Taylor in particular — as intriguing developmental talent.