New England Patriots
He has Ohio State and Tennessee Titans ties, but did not overlap with Mike Vrabel with either program.
Dre’Mont Jones AP Photo/Terrance Williams
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The Patriots made some changes on the edge this week. Dre’Mont Jones is in, and K’Lavon Chaisson is out after signing a one-year deal with the Commanders.
New England’s pass-rush could use an upgrade. The Patriots were 26th in sacks in 2025, 26th in pressures, and 29th in hurries. Harold Landry, who led the team in sacks last season, remains under contract for next season.
The Patriots hope that Jones will impact their pass-rush game similarly to the way he did for Baltimore last season.
According to ESPN, Jones had 15 quarterback hits during his nine games with the Ravens, which was the most on the team during that time frame. The report also mentioned “relentlessness” and “swagger” among the qualities that made him a fit for Baltimore.
Now he’ll have a fresh start with the Patriots, who are coming off of a trip to the Super Bowl.
Here are four things to know about the Patriots’ newest edge rusher.
He played at Ohio State and with the Titans, but did not overlap with Vrabel.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel’s ties to Ohio State and the Titans are well known. Vrabel is an Ohio State alum who later launched his coaching career at his alma mater by joining the staff as an assistant.
Vrabel coached the Titans for seven seasons and won the first of two NFL Coach of the Year awards there.
Jones played at Ohio State from 2015-2018 before the Broncos picked him in the third round of the 2019 Draft. Vrabel was hired by the Texans in 2014, so he was gone by the time Jones arrived in Columbus.
Jones signed with the Titans as a free-agent last offseason. Vrabel was with the Patriots preparing for his first season as New England’s head coach. The Titans had fired Vrabel after the 2023 season, and he spent a year consulting with the Cleveland Browns.
Both Jones and Vrabel are Ohio natives. Jones is from Cleveland. Vrabel is from Akron.
He has the size, versatility to play inside if needed.
At 6-foot-3, 281 pounds, Jones is bigger than Landry and Chaisson, who are both under 260 pounds.
He can be a physical presence on the edge, but also has the versatility to move inside and play in a three-technique if needed.
Tennessee primarily used him as an outside linebacker, but the Ravens had him rushing off the edge as a defensive end. Denver had experimented with him at defensive tackle for a bit during the early part of his career.
Despite splitting last season between two teams, 2025 was one of his best years in terms of getting after the quarterback. His seven sacks were a career high, and his 24 quarterback hits would have been more than anyone on the Patriots had.
The Patriots are his fifth stop in the NFL.
Jones spent the bulk of his career with the Broncos.
He spent a couple of years with the Seahawks in 2023 and 2024 after signing with Seattle in free agency. The Seahawks cut him last offseason. The Patriots found out first hand in the Super Bowl how talented Seattle’s defense was.
The Titans signed Jones to a one-year deal and traded him to Baltimore halfway through the season. The Patriots signed Jones to a three-year deal this offseason.
So, once this upcoming season begins, the total will be five teams in eight years, including four in the last two years.
According to a prospect profile put together by Vikings.com, Jones did not start playing football until his junior year of high school.
He had been focused on basketball until then. He has a college basketball recruiting page on ESPN.com.
NFL analyst Lance Zierlein said Jones’s bouncy feet, short-range quickness, and pursuit speed made him stand out among other high school defensive linemen at the time.
“Jones is an extremely athletic, one-gapping 3-technique with the ability to play a disruptive brand of football on all three downs,” Zierlein said.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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