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The New England Patriots entered their 2025 training camp with Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers seemingly the undisputed top two options at safety. They exited with Dugger relegated to backup duty and Peppers off the team entirely (a fate Dugger also would later meet).
In their place, Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson had emerged as the starting duo and every-down players in New England’s new-look secondary. Heading into 2026, Woodson will not be going anywhere. Hawkins’ future, on the other hand, is less clear: he is set to enter free agency in mid-March and coming off the best season of his career could be of some interest to other teams.
The Patriots know this as well. And yet, they plan to be patient with the 28-year-old.
“Hawkins is a free agent, and he’s earned the opportunity to see what’s out there,” executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday. “But he’s certainly someone that we would welcome back.”
New England letting Hawkins test free agency is not a new approach for the team. In the past, the Patriots have repeatedly given players an opportunity to enter and evaluate their markets while keeping an open dialogue with the organization.
Still, there is a risk involved in that approach Wolf and company are seemingly willing to take. That risk, of course, is Hawkins pricing himself out of the Patriots’ comfort zone and leaving the team.
If so, a major spot would open up in a secondary otherwise set to be quite stable this offseason. Hawkins, after all, started all of the 19 games he appeared in last season and was on the field for 85.8% of defensive snaps. He also registered four interceptions — tied with Marcus Jones for the team lead — and forced and recovered one fumble each on the year.
More importantly than his stats, though, might have been his ability to perfectly fit the defense the Patriots are envisioning. As Wolf explained, the Patriots’ safeties “have to be able to do everything.”
“They have to be able to play down in the box, man cover, tackle in space, and having guys that are interchangeable just kind of opens up a lot of different things for the defense that Zak Kuhr and Terrell Williams can kind of employ,” he added before also highlighting other key areas.
“Communication is so underrated at that position. I think maybe a lot of fans don’t understand that being able to communicate, set the defense, that’s something that we talked to the coaching staffs in college about and just making sure that anyone that comes in has to be able to communicate and be smart. But on the field, it’s the athleticism, it’s the change of direction, it’s the speed and range. The anticipation that these guys play with are very important traits that we look for.”
Hawkins has shown that he can do all the Patriots are looking for. Now, the question becomes whether the two sides reach an agreement about how valuable those traits are.
The market seemingly will be used to help them find that middle ground.