The New England Patriots came out of Sunday’s roster cutdown with an obvious question on defense.
Who is going to create pressure off the edge while Harold Landry III is unavailable?
One classic answer is sitting on the open market.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox ranked Kyle Van Noy as the top bargain free agent among edge defenders following the NFL’s 53-man roster deadline and listed the Patriots and San Francisco 49ers as potential suitors.
A reunion would bring New England a proven pass rusher who knows the organization and could address one of the roster’s short-term concerns.
Van Noy, 35, is coming off a quieter 2025 season with the Baltimore Ravens, finishing with two sacks and 17 quarterback pressures.
His wider body of work in Baltimore is stronger, however. He totaled 23.5 sacks and 54 pressures over three seasons with the Ravens, per Bleacher Report.
Van Noy Could Fill Immediate Patriots Need
New England’s need became more apparent when Landry III was placed on the reserve/PUP list, ruling him out for at least the first four games of the regular season.
Patriots.com highlighted edge rusher as one of the roster’s key issues after cutdown day. The Patriots are currently leaning on a group led by Dre’Mont Jones, Elijah Ponder and second-round rookie Gabe Jacas, with seventh-round pick Quintayvious Hutchins also making the initial 53.
Patriots.com’s Evan Lazar described Jones as a steady veteran, Ponder as a promising option who remains unconfirmed in an every-down role and Jacas as a rookie who struggled during the preseason.
New England also opened 2025 with more depth off the edge than it has right now.
That makes Van Noy an intriguing bridge until Landry returns. He would give head coach Mike Vrabel another experienced piece to deploy in a defined role as New England continues maturing its younger edge defenders.
Van Noy’s 2025 numbers dropped sharply from his 12.5-sack campaign in 2024, but he has continued to show he can get to the quarterback late in his career.
For a Patriots team coming off a Super Bowl appearance, adding an adept defender would be a sensible way to reinforce a vulnerable spot before Week 1.
Van Noy Already Has Deep Patriots Ties
Few available veterans would require less of an introduction in Foxborough.
The Patriots acquired Van Noy from the Detroit Lions during the 2016 season, and he became an important piece on two Super Bowl championship teams. He stayed in New England through 2019 before signing with the Miami Dolphins, then returned to the Patriots for the 2021 season.
New England released him again in March 2022. He spent the following season with the Los Angeles Chargers before beginning a three-year run with Baltimore.
The second Patriots stint showed the organization has been willing to revisit the partnership once. Van Noy played 16 games in 2021, recording five sacks, 66 tackles, 10 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and an interception returned for a touchdown, according to the team.
The circumstances are different now.
Vrabel is running the operation, the Patriots have championship expectations and Van Noy is going into his age-35 season.
Still, the compatibility is easy to see.
New England has an opening for veteran edge help, and Van Noy is available after demonstrating as recently as 2024 that he can hit double-digit sacks.
Bleacher Report connecting the two sides surfaces an intriguing possibility with Landry unavailable and a young group behind him.