Patriots sign seven players to futures contracts as 2025 offseason gets underway

In their first player personnel move of the offseason, the New England Patriots signed seven of their practice squad players to futures contracts on Monday.

While the New England Patriots begin their search for a new head coach, there are also some player personnel matters that need to be attended to with the end of the regular season. The team got started on that process on Monday, signing seven players from their practice squad to futures contracts.

A futures contract is a mechanic that lets teams retain practice squad players, who become free agents a week after their team’s season ends. Futures contracts place a player on the reserve/futures list, meaning they don’t count against the roster total until it increases to 90 players when the new league year begins in March when the contracts officially kick in.

The contracts are usually worth at or around the league minimum. Only players who were not on an active roster at the end of the regular season are eligible for futures contracts.

That includes practice squad players, who these deals are usually used to maintain. All seven of the Patriots’ signings on Monday are from their own practice squad. The seven signings are…

WR John Jiles
OT Caleb Jones
DL Marcus Harris
LB Andrew Parker
CB D.J. James
S Mark Perry
K Parker Romo

Of the seven players, the most notable may be kicker Parker Romo. Romo does have some NFL experience after appearing in four games for the Minnesota Vikings this year. With the Patriots not having another kicker currently under contract for 2025, the door is wide open at that position. The plan could be for him to be part of a competition in the spring and summer.

Offensive tackle Caleb Jones is another notable name. Jones is one of the few players who made it through the entire season amid the Patriots’ practice squad shuffling. Offensive line coach Scott Peters spoke highly of him last week, and he could be back to compete for a depth roster spot.

Meanwhile there are five practice squad players the Patriots did not sign to futures contracts on Monday – running back Kevin Harris, wide receiver Alex Erickson, wide receiver Braylon Sanders, tight end Mitchell Wilcox, and defensive end Jotham Russell. Those players could be getting deals at a later date. It’s also possible they won’t be getting re-signed to a futures deal, either because they’re choosing to hit free agency and see if they can get a full contract elsewhere, or the team is choosing to move on.

In the bigger picture, the Patriots have 17 players from their active roster that are pending free agents. Those players can be re-signed to full contracts at any time, but that may not happen until the coaching situation is handled first.

Alex Barth is a digital content producer and on-air host for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Barth grew up in the Boston area and began covering both the New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, and Boston Red Sox in 2017 before joining the Hub in 2020. He now covers all things Boston Sports for 985TheSportsHub.com as well as appearing on air. Alex writes about all New England sports, as well as college football. You can follow him across all social media platforms at @RealAlexBarth.