Pro Football Rumors
The Patriots placed one of their top pass rushers, outside linebacker Harold Landry, on the active/physically unable to perform list on Tuesday. Landry is continuing to deal with a knee injury that bothered him last year, and the Patriots’ OLB group is also going into training without Gabe Jacas.
A second-round pick from Illinois, Jacas underwent cleanup surgery on his knee sometime after April’s draft. Jacas, the 55th overall selection, still has not signed his rookie contract a couple months later. He and Rams first-round quarterback Ty Simpson are the only 2026 draftees without deals.
Because he doesn’t have a contract, Jacas has not reported to camp this week. He is already well behind after not participating in rookie minicamp or attending mandatory minicamp.
Asked about Jacas on Friday, head coach Mike Vrabel said contract talks have been “positive, obviously between the club and his representative” (via Mike Reiss of ESPN). Vrabel declined to put a timeline on a potential agreement, but he has spoken with Jacas and is “positive” the two sides will work through the “contractual issues” that are keeping him away from the team.
In regards to Jacas’ health, Vrabel stated: “I can only go by what he says. And so when he gets here, we’ll evaluate that. Of course, be as smart as we can; just to see, because we haven’t seen him with us. But I would say, use the words ‘cautiously optimistic.’ But again, those conversations have been great and excited to see where he’s at.”
Jacas’ recent health issues have not been limited to his knee. A hamstring injury prevented Jacas from participating at the Combine in February or Illinois’ pro day in March. There are also concerns that a labral tear in Jacas’ shoulder could require medical attention down the line.
New England has held off on adding a free agent edge defender in recent weeks, though plans may change depending on how things shake out with Landry and/or Jacas. The Patriots won 14 games and advanced to Super Bowl LX last season, but they did despite a lackluster pass rush that ranked 19th in win rate and 26th in sacks. They arguably have not done enough to upgrade the area in the past few months.
Landry led last year’s AFC champions with 8.5 sacks, but second-place finisher K’Lavon Chaisson (7.5) left for the Commanders in free agency. The Patriots replaced Chaisson with Dre’Mont Jones (seven sacks in 2025), whom they picked up on a three-year, $39.5MM contract. Jacas was their other noteworthy pass-rushing investment in the offseason, and it remains in question whether he will contribute at all as a rookie.
With Landry and Jacas unavailable, the Patriots are down to Jones, Elijah Ponder, Bradyn Swinson, Jesse Luketa, seventh-rounder Quintayvious Hutchins, and undrafted rookies Xavier Holmes and Riley Wilson as their healthy options along the edge. There is little in the way of proven depth in that group, though Ponder did tally four sacks despite playing just 21% of defensive...
