Patriots Sign Young CB to Begin Solidifying Defense

The cornerback position is a rather big need for the New England Patriots this NFL offseason, as they have no real proven talent beyond Christian Gonzalez.

However, the Patriots do have an intriguing young corner who showed some promise this past year: Alex Austin.

Fortunately, Austin will be back with New England next season, as the 23-year-old signed his exclusive rights tender to return to the Pats, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.

Austin will be a restricted free agent in 2026.

The Oregon State product played in nine games this past season, finishing with nine tackles and five passes defended. His snap count increased tremendously toward the end of the year, as he went from playing in 14 snaps total over the Patriots' first 11 games to appearing in 92.4 percent of the team's defensive snaps in Week 17.

Austin was originally selected by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but was released by the Bills shortly before the start of his rookie campaign. He then joined the Houston Texans, where he made three appearances before being released in November 2023.

That was when New England stepped in and signed Austin, who participated in five games and logged nine tackles, an interception and a pass defended with the Pats that season.

At 6-foot-1 and solid ball skills, Austin definitely has the potential to become a part of the Patriots' secondary rotation in 2025, although it's still obvious that New England needs to add some pieces.

Fortunately, the Pats have more cap room than any other team in the league entering free agency, so they should be able to afford to address the cornerback position.

We'll see what the Patriots decide to do in the coming weeks.