Jaylinn Hawkins finds his next stop in Baltimore on a two-year deal
jaylinn hawkins spent the past season making himself hard to ignore in New England, appearing in 15 games and coming away with four interceptions. Now his next step is clear: the Baltimore Ravens and Jaylinn Hawkins have agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth $10 million in total.
The move resolves a question that had lingered around Hawkins’ future with the New England Patriots as free agency approached. In recent weeks, there had been signals that both sides were interested in continuing their relationship in Foxboro, even as his production in 2025 gave him leverage on the open market. Baltimore’s agreement changes the shape of that story in one clean stroke.
Jaylinn Hawkins and the season that made him a starter
Hawkins entered the 2025 season on a one-year deal with the Patriots, after New England had signed him to a one-year contract for the 2024 season and re-signed him to another one-year deal in 2025. By the end of 2025, his stat line carried the weight of a player who had forced his way into a bigger conversation: 71 total tackles, three tackles for loss, 1. 5 sacks, one forced fumble, one recovery, four interceptions, and six pass deflections in 15 games.
On defense, he also logged a heavy workload. He played 92. 1% of the defensive snaps through 15 of the Patriots’ 17 regular-season games, totaling 838 snaps on defense, third most on the team behind Carlton Davis with 926 and Craig Woodson with 950. Those numbers placed Hawkins not just in the lineup, but near the center of it.
His pass coverage production stood out in the team’s own internal hierarchy. Hawkins finished the regular season with six passes defended, fourth on the Patriots behind Marcus Jones with 11, Christian Gonzalez with 10, and Carlton Davis with 10. He also led the team in interceptions with four, and ranked No. 3 in the NFL in interceptions in 2025.
Baltimore Ravens make the move after New England’s Byard signing
Baltimore had been looking for a viable third safety, and Hawkins “fits the bill” there. The Ravens’ agreement with Hawkins is for two years, with the contract valued at $10 million in total.
For New England, the shift had been visible already. Hawkins stepped up as a surprising starter for the Patriots last year, but the team elected to sign veteran safety Kevin Byard to try and upgrade. That decision did not erase Hawkins’ 2025 output, but it did alter the depth chart math around him just as his free agency neared.
Hawkins had reached this point through a winding NFL path. He is 28, a former fourth-round pick by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2020 NFL Draft out of California. He was in the final year of a four-year, $3, 961, 916 rookie contract when Atlanta elected to cut him in 2023. Hawkins was quickly claimed by the Los Angeles Chargers and finished out the year in Los Angeles, before landing in New England for the 2024 season.
Patriots talks and a market that didn’t wait
Before the Baltimore deal, the picture in Foxboro was one of interest without closure. At the start of the offseason, the Patriots and representatives for Hawkins continued to talk about a potential return to New England, but nothing had materialized. Mike Reiss said on Toucher & Rich on Wednesday that the two sides “might be close” to getting something done, and that “one way or the other, ” an answer could come soon.
Hawkins had also been clear publicly about his preference. Doug Kyed relayed Hawkins’ words as a free agent: “I really want to come back. ” The possibility of a Patriots return mattered because Hawkins was set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 11, and his 2025 production created a stronger negotiating position than the one-year, $1. 8 million deal he signed with New England in 2025.
One estimate put Hawkins’ NFL market value at $8. 3 million. In the same window, the Patriots were also described as having $60 million in cap space, enough to potentially match or exceed that market value if they chose. Yet the roster around him was already shifting: New England released wide receiver Stefon Diggs on Wednesday, and had also moved on from linebackers Jahlani Tavai and Anfernee Jennings, while defensive lineman Khyris Tonga and linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson signed elsewhere in free agency. In total, the Patriots had seen 12 players depart overall thus far, while bringing in six new additions through the first three days of free agency.
In that churn, Hawkins’ steady snap counts and takeaways made him a stabilizing figure in the secondary. He played alongside rookie Craig Woodson, while other defensive backs such as Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III, Marcus Jones, and Woodson were noted as being under contract until 2027. Still, the deal he ultimately reached was not in New England.
jaylinn hawkins now leaves Foxboro with a 2025 season that reads like a résumé built in real time: near-every-down usage, team-leading interceptions, and production across the stat sheet. His next role comes into focus in Baltimore, where the Ravens had been searching for a third safety and have now made their choice with a two-year agreement.
