New England Patriots tender two restricted free agent defenders

The New England Patriots are bringing back two young defenders for the 2025 season. 

ESPN's Mike Reiss reported on Wednesday that cornerback Alex Austin signed his exclusive rights tender. Across his three years in the league, he's appeared in 17 games with 4 starts and has recorded 18 tackles and one interception.

And then on Thursday, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that the Patriots plan to tender restricted free agent linebacker Christian Elliss at the right-of-first-refusal amount of $3.263M. 

Elliss joined the Patriots towards the end of the 2023 season, becoming a core special teamer. However, in 2024, he stepped up and became a bigger piece on defense. He finished with 80 tackles with 1.5 sacks, five quarterback hits, five passes defended, and an interception.

New head coach Mike Vrabel has made it clear that the Patriots roster will look very different in August, but it seems that he wants to keep these players around for a bit longer. 

As a restricted free agent, a player must have three accrued seasons in the league and their contract has to have expired. They are welcome to sign with any team, but their previous teams have the opportunity to extend an offer or tender. A tender comes with right of refusal or draft pick compensation.