A fourth member of the Patriots 2020 draft class is on their way back to the team, with NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reporting that Anfernee Jennings is sticking in New England on a new three-year deal. Jennings joins Josh Uche, Kyle Dugger and Michael Onwenu in returning to the team that selected them four years ago, as the team continues to reestablish a new veteran core by building internally.
Jennings was one of the new bright spots for the Patriots defense in 2023. He got some experience as a rookie but primarily as an insider linebacker and then missed all of 2021 with an injury. He again played sparingly in 2022, playing about a third of the defensive snaps as he did when he was a rookie, but moved back to his more natural edge position where he played at Alabama.
But after an injury to Matthew Judon early in 2023, Jennings began to fully blossom with his stout edge-setting presence leading the way. He still just recorded 1.5 sacks on the year, matching his 2022 total, but saw his play time explode to two-thirds of the snaps on defense, becoming a key part of the Patriots biggest defensive strength, their run defense, which ranked first in yards-per-attempt and third in DVOA. Jennings had an impressive 14 tackles-for-loss.
Paired with the return of Uche, it gives the Patriots two ways to complement Judon's three-down presence with both a plus pass rusher and stout edge presence.
The reported three-year term shows the team was also impressed with Jennings' emergence last year. He should continue to be an important part of the defense.
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