Pats Pulpit
The Patriots added to their defensive tackle group on Sunday.
The New England Patriots made a move ahead of their 2025 training camp, signing free agent defensive tackle David Olajiga. A member of the International Pathway Player Program (IPPP), he joined the team as a roster-exempt 91st player.
What does the signing mean for the Patriots, though? Let’s find out.
We are probably not going out on too much of a limb here when we say that Olajiga is a long shot to make the Patriots’ 53-man roster. That does not mean he won’t bring value to the team or indeed become a contributor further down the line.
In the short term, the 27-year-old will provide another body up front to help spread the practice workload this training camp. With him in the fold, New England now has nine interior defensive lineman under contract:
Interior defensive line (9*): Christian Barmore (90), Milton Williams (97), Joshua Farmer (92), Khyiris Tonga (95), Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (98), Jaquelin Roy (94), Jahvaree Ritzie (93), Isaiah Iton (96), David Olajiga (96 | IPPP)
Headlined by Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, the group looks very promising at the top of the depth chart. There are, however, questions about the backup options behind them and whether or not any of them can carve out regular roles in the rotation — including Olajiga.
Standing at 6-foot-3, 310 pounds, he primarily projects as an early-down nose tackle in New England. As such, he can be considered a backup behind Khyiris Tonga.
In the long term, the hope might be for Olajiga to follow a trajectory similar to that of Jeremiah Pharms Jr.: joining the Patriots shortly before their 2022 training camp, Pharms Jr. has since developed into a rotational reserve option up front and signed a two-year contract extension this offseason.
Obviously no two players and situations are alike, and that is true for Olajiga and Pharms Jr. as well; not only do they come from different backgrounds, they also play slightly different positions up front. Still the latter shows that overcoming the odds as a late arrival — both relative to the NFL calendar and his age — is certainly possible, even if it might take some time to do so.
Even though the full details of Olajiga’s contract with the Patriots are not yet available, expect it to be of the minimum for a player of his experience. A 2024 rookie free agent who spent his entire first year in the NFL on the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad, he has no accrued seasons under his belt.
As a consequence, his base salary will be set at a non-guaranteed $840,000. With no signing bonus expected to be part of the pact, and that salary figure not high enough to qualify for Top 51 status, Olajiga will not count against New England’s cap at the moment.
As noted above, the UK-born...
