NFL teams began announcing their contract agreements with free agents on Wednesday, the first day of the league’s 2026 business year. They also started announcing the players being released to create the salary-cap room to sign those free agents.
The New England Patriots announced they had released three players and traded one. Among the released players was former Alabama linebacker Anfernee Jennings. Let go after starting Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8, Jennings had one season remaining on a three-year, $12 million contract signed in 2024. Releasing Jennings shaved $3.868 million off New England’s salary-cap obligations for the 2026 season.
Coming off the most active season of his NFL career, Jennings did not carry that momentum through the offseason change in the Patriots’ coaching staff under new head coach Mike Vrabel.
But injuries down the stretch put Jennings on the field more. He played 144 of his regular-season total of 280 defensive snaps in the final five games before playing 131 and starting three times in New England’s four playoff games.
Of Jennings’ 2025 totals (including the playoffs) of 42 tackles, four sacks, eight tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hits, he had 29 tackles, three sacks, seven tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits after December started.
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A two-time All-State selection and the 2014 Class 4A Lineman of the Year at Dadeville High School, Jennings joined the Patriots from Alabama in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
In his first three seasons, Jennings played in 30 games with seven starts, recorded 47 tackles and one tackle for loss while playing 635 defensive snaps. That action came in the 2020 and 2022 seasons. Jennings took the opt-out in the 2021 campaign under the NFL’s plan to play during the coronavirus pandemic.
Most of those snaps came as an inside linebacker. But in 2023 a torn biceps suffered by Matthew Judon opened a spot on the field for Jennings, and he played mostly as an edge defender as he started 14 times and made 66 tackles.
In 2024, Jennings started 16 games and reached career highs with 78 tackles and 2.5 sacks while playing 831 defensive snaps.