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That didn’t take long.

Just minutes after noon hit on Monday, officially opening up the ‘legal tampering period’ for free agency, Dianna Russini reported the Patriots are singing defensive end Dre’Mont Jones, formerly of the Ravens. The deal is worth $39 million over three years.

Jones turned 29 in January and was a third round pick by Denver in the 2019 Draft, No. 71 overall. There’s the Ohio State connection with Vrabel that jumps out right away here too.

Jones actually played the Patriots twice last year, appearing in games for both Tennessee and Baltimore, so the staff got a good look at him up close. In his seven-year career, Jones has played in 108 games, starting 69 of them. He’s got an interception, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, an impressive 37.5 sacks and 135 solo tackles (235 total). He’s also got 87 QB hits and 47 tackles for loss. Two of his sacks came in those games against New England this season, one in each matchup.

It’ll be interesting to see if this means K’Lavon Chaisson is now going somewhere else instead of re-signing here, or if this could be the precursor to Christian Barmore also departing in a trade of some sort too. This most likely won’t be the only defensive player the team signs, particularly up front.