The New England Patriots have re-signed defensive back Jalen Mills on Wednesday. The two sides have agreed on a one-year contract worth up to $6.1 million for the 2023 season. The organization released Mills earlier this offseason, which saved the team $5 million in cap space. Now, the two sides come together again with what is likely a heavy incentive based contract. Mills recorded 31 tackles and two interceptions in 10 games with the Patriots last season. He's a quality defensive back, so this is a nice move by the Pats.
The New England Patriots released defensive back Jalen Mills on Friday, according to a source. The move saves the team around $5 million against the 2023 salary cap. Mills played in only 10 games in his second year with the Patriots in 2022 due to injuries and finished with a career-low 31 tackles (26 solo), two interceptions and five passes defensed. In his two years in New England, the 28-year-old recorded 61 solo tackles, two interceptions, 12 passes defensed and a fumble recovery in 26 regular season starts. The former seventh-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 2016 should latch on with another team and should be ready for training camp this summer.
New England Patriots cornerback Jalen Mills wasn't activated from the Reserve/COVID-19 list by the deadline on Friday, which means he won't be eligible to play in Saturday's wild-card game against the Buffalo Bills. Mills went into the league's COVID protocols on Tuesday and didn't travel with the team to Buffalo. D'Angelo Ross and Daniel Ekuale have been called up as COVID replacements for the wild-card contest. The absence of Mills will make New England's secondary slightly more vulnerable. The 27-year-old started in all 16 of his appearances opposite J.C. Jackson. Mills played 913 defensive snaps, which was third on the team behind only Jackson and safety Devin McCourty.
Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Jalen Mills is making the move from cornerback to safety this year with Malcolm Jenkins now in New Orleans. Mills is also starting to move into more of a leadership role for the Eagles Defense. He was drafted in the seventh round as a cornerback out of LSU, and he impressed the team enough to re-sign for one year and $4 million. The 26-year-old has just four interceptions in his four NFL seasons, but he could become one to watch in IDP leagues if his new role as the quarterback of the secondary allows him to become more of a ball hawk. Mills recorded 41 combined tackles, one interception and seven passes defensed in nine games for Philly in 2019.
The Philadelphia Eagles re-signed defensive back Jalen Mills with the intention of moving him to safety to help account for the loss of Malcolm Jenkins in the starting lineup. It's a gamble, but the additions of Darius Slay and Nickell Robey-Coleman could make Mills' transition smoother. The Eagles have three former starters coming off the bench in Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas and Cre'Von LeBlanc, so their defensive back depth is the best of any position on that side of the ball entering the 2020 season. The Eagles secondary has been a big question mark for a while now, so this defense could be much more solid this season.
Jalen Mills Unlikely to Be Ready for Training Camp
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills (foot) is unlikely to be ready to go for the start of training camp. Mills was placed on injured reserve in October after suffering a foot injury and did not participate in any of the offseason program. Reports state that Mills was not even on the field working with the other injured Eagles players. It's unknown for now if Mills is expected to be ready for Week 1, but he'd need to get a lot of work in soon for that to be a realistic possibility. The Eagles may have some depth chart issues in their secondary if some of their guys don't heal quickly.
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