Mike Vrabel has landed his first big-name free agent, and he's a familiar face for the New England Patriots head coach.
The Patriots are signing linebacker Harold Landry to a three-year contract worth $43.5 million with $26 million guaranteed, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Sunday. Landry can earn up to $48 million if he reaches certain incentives, per Pelissero.
The Tennessee Titans released Landry on Friday after failing to find a trade partner for the 28-year-old former Pro Bowler. Landry had spent his entire NFL career in Tennessee and played six seasons under Vrabel from 2018 to 2023 when Vrabel was head coach of the Titans.
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Titans reunion in Foxboro.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) March 9, 2025
Landry is a different type of edge defender than what the Patriots have preferred for years under Bill Belichick and then Jerod Mayo. Lighter than what’s been the norm. Sign of the changing Patriots scheme. https://t.co/q9Sn5sZaWG
Landry's best season with Vrabel came in 2021, when he racked up a career-high 12 sacks en route to a Pro Bowl nod. The Boston College product missed the entire 2022 campaign due to a torn ACL just before the regular season but enjoyed a strong bounce-back season in 2023 with 10.5 sacks in 17 games.
Landry started all 17 games for Tennessee last season, recording nine sacks and 15 tackles for loss with a Pro Football Focus run defense grade of 82.2, good for sixth-best among NFL edge rushers.
The seven-year veteran provides a significant boost to a New England pass rush that tallied a league-worst 28 sacks in 2024. Landry also spoke glowingly of Vrabel after their final season together in Tennessee, which bodes well for their reunion in Foxboro.
"I feel like with [Vrabel], my entire career, situationally, I’ve been as prepared as I can possibly be for every game," Landry said in January 2024, via the Nashville Post. "I feel like if you just look at [the Titans’ season-ending win over Jacksonville], guys are playing hard for him, guys are wanting to win for him and … I really can’t imagine him not being the Titans head coach. I mean, I just can’t.”
