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Patriots reportedly retain linebacker who received offer sheet from Raiders
Elliss posted a career-high 80 tackles, 1.5 sacks, five passes defended, one interception, and one forced fumble in 2024.
The Patriots are reportedly continuing to bolster their linebacker corps.
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the Patriots are planning to retain linebacker Christian Elliss, opting to match the offer sheet that he received from the Las Vegas Raiders last week. Reiss added that Elliss will remain in New England on a two-year contract.
Elliss, a restricted free agent, put himself on the brink of leaving Foxborough last week when he signed an offer sheet with the Raiders on March 19 after visiting the team in Las Vegas on March 17.
While Elliss had the opportunity to seek out contract offers from other teams as a restricted free agent, New England tendered the 26-year-old at the right-of-first-refusal level prior to the start of free agency.
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By doing so, it ensured that the Patriots had a chance to match an offer sheet, but won’t get any compensation in return if they turn down the opportunity, considering Elliss came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent.
But even with New England bolstering their linebacker room in free agent by signing players like Robert Spillane and Jack Gibbens, the Patriots clearly didn’t want to lose Elliss after he served as one of the few bright spots on a banged-up and underachieving defense.
Elliss, who first joined the Patriots late in the 2023 season after being released by the Philadelphia Eagles, made the most of the added reps handed his way in New England in 2024.
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Last season, Elliss recorded a career-high 80 tackles,1.5 sacks, five passes defended, one interception, and one forced fumble.
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