We’re now one month into NFL free agency, and the New England Patriots have added a total of eight players to their 90-man roster — six on offense, one on defense and one on special teams.
How will those newcomers fit in? That’s hard to say with certainty with the 2023 NFL Draft still to come. But here is the role we see each free agent signee filling this season:
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
The Patriots let Jakobi Meyers, their top receiver for the past three seasons, walk in free agency and replaced him with Smith-Schuster. The former Steeler and Chief should play a similar role to Meyers while, New England hopes, offering more upside and explosiveness, especially in run-after-catch situations. Smith-Schuster lined up out wide on more than half of his snaps for Kansas City last season but mainly played in the slot during his time with Pittsburgh.
Projected role: top slot receiver
TE Mike Gesicki
Bill Belichick typically favors well-rounded tight ends who can both catch passes and block effectively. That’s not Gesicki. He’s essentially, as Belichick has described him in the past, “a big receiver” with minimal blocking skills but the ability to create mismatches in the passing game with his 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame. Expect offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, who recruited Gesicki at Penn State, to deploy him primarily in the slot or out wide, with Hunter Henry and a potential draft pick handling more of the in-line work. We could see similarities to the way O’Brien used Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez together in 2011, with Gesicki playing the Hernandez role.
Projected role: “move” tight end
OT Riley Reiff
Reiff is 34 years old and hasn’t played a full season since 2015, but with 149 career starts on his record, he’ll bring some much-needed experience and short-term stability to the Patriots’ tackle group. He and Trent Brown will enter spring practice as the projected starters, though it’s unclear which side each will play, as both have seen extensive action at left and right tackle.
Projected role: starting right tackle
OT Calvin Anderson
Anderson, who had a cup of coffee with the Patriots as an undrafted rookie in 2019, started 12 games for Denver over the last three seasons, including seven in 2022. The vast majority of Anderson’s regular-season snaps have come at left tackle, but he’s played right tackle in the preseason and should offer some positional versatility.
Projected role: swing tackle
RB James Robinson
The Patriots swapped out the injury-prone Damien Harris for Robinson, who comes with his own injury-related concerns. He’s coming off the least productive season of his career after tearing his Achilles in December 2021. Now a year-and-a-half removed from that injury, New England hopes it’s getting the version of Robinson who rushed for 1,070 yards and caught 49 passes as a rookie in 2020. The Patriots lacked a reliable No. 2 behind lead back Rhamondre Stevenson last season.
Projected role: change-of-pace back behind Stevenson
LB Chris Board
Belichick is a huge fan of Board, calling him “the best special teams player we’ll play against all year” last October. He’s played more than 290 special teams snaps in each of his five NFL seasons, including 80% of Detroit’s in 2022. Board also has averaged more than 250 defensive snaps per season since 2020, so he’s not a kicking game-only player.
Projected role: core special teamer and depth linebacker
P Corliss Waitman
Waitman was a middle-of-the-road punter for Denver last season, ranking 20th in yards per punt and 16th in net punting average. The Broncos’ putrid offense kept him busy; his 96 total punts were the most by an NFL player since 2017. The prediction here is that New England still drafts a punter later this month, and that that rookie beats Waitman out in training camp.
Projected role: released
QB Trace McSorley
The Patriots signed McSorley on Thursday to fill the spot on the depth chart vacated by Brian Hoyer’s release. The former Penn State star previously was a third-stringer in Baltimore and Arizona and offers some athletic upside as a ball carrier. He’ll compete for reps behind Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.
Projected role: practice squad
