Patriots sign linebacker Harvey Langi to a 1-year contract extension

Related: Practice squad defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale hints at re-signing with the Patriots

Almost two months before the start of free agency, the New England Patriots have taken care of their first free agent-to-be. The team and linebacker Harvey Langi have agreed to a contract extension, as was announced by his agent, Kenny Zuckerman, on Friday.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the deal runs for one year. Further details are not yet known, but the belief is that the value of the contract will be near the veterans minimum for a player of Langi’s experience.

An undrafted rookie free agent out of Brigham Young in 2017, Langi started his NFL career with the Patriots and promptly made their 53-man roster. His first season in the league saw him appear in one game before he and his wife, Cassidy, were involved in a car crash in mid-October. The accident forced him to end his rookie campaign on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Even though Langi returned the following offseason, New England eventually let him go on cutdown day 2018. After a month on the open market the linebacker decided to take his talents to the New York Jets.

After spending his first season as a Jet on the practice squad, he went on to appear in 30 games for the organization over the next two years and established himself as a valuable role player on both defense and in the kicking game. Despite his success, however, he was not tendered as a restricted free agent in 2021.

Langi returned to New England, serving as a four-unit special teamer and emergency linebacker. In this role, Langi appeared in the first seven of the Patriots’ games before a sprained MCL forced New England to send him to injured reserve. Langi did return to practice to kick open the 21-day return window, but he was not activated.

Despite ending the season on the sidelines, the team apparently feels good about Langi’s outlook and role heading into 2022. With him now under contract for an additional year, the Patriots’ list of impending free agents is down to 18: while 15 players will head to unrestricted free agency, another three carry the restricted label.

The NFL’s 2022 free agency period and new league year are set to begin on March 16 at 4 p.m. ET.