The Patriots released veteran linebacker Sione Takitaki on Wednesday and signed center Ben Brown to a one year deal worth $1.3 million dollars on Thursday. The team also re-signed right tackle Demontrey Jacobs to a one year, $960,000 dollar deal. MassLive’s Mark Daniels was the first to report the signings. 

Takitaki’s release is no surprise as the veteran linebacker struggled to stay healthy and even when he did play, he did not make much of an impact defensively. He signed a two-year contract as a free agent last offseason, with a base value of $6.6645 million and a maximum value of $10.245 million. The deal included $3.125 million guaranteed.

A favorite of EVP of Football Ops Eliot Wolf, Takitaki was supposed to compete for a starting job and provide depth and experience. He was also expected to be a contributor on special teams. Unfortunately neither happened.

Takitaki played in 11 games last season for the Patriots, with four starts. He finished with 18 tackles and played just 17% of the defensive snaps. He opened the season on the physically unable to perform list after having his knee scoped prior to the season.

Brown was signed off of the Raiders practice squad in October and started 10 games in place of the injured David Andrews. Brown stabilized the center position and provides good depth inside. He can also play guard as well. 

Jacobs was claimed off of waivers from the Broncos prior to the start of the 2024 season. He started 13 games and saw playing time at both left and right tackle. The majority of his starts were on the right side however.

Offensive line is an area of concern and it will be addressed both in free agency and the draft. Re-signing Brown and Jacobs provides depth and experience to the offensive line room.