Latest updates on signings after NFL Draft
Patriots UDFA Tracker: Latest updates on players signed after the draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The 2023 NFL Draft is over, but that doesn’t mean teams are done adding rookies to their rosters before training camp.
Undrafted free agents are an important part of the offseason. Good players always go undrafted for a variety of reasons. The New England Patriots have actually had a lot of success with these players.
Next Pats: Patriots NFL Draft Day 2: Love the picks but hate the strategy | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
Since 2000, when Bill Belichick took over as head coach, a UDFA has created the Patriots’ Week 1 roster almost every season. Three of the most notable examples are Super Bowl XLIX hero Malcolm Butler in 2014, center David Andrews in 2015, and cornerback JC Jackson in 2018. Andrews has won two New England Super Bowl titles and is still the team’s starting center. Jackson won Super Bowl LIII as a rookie.
Here’s a list of all the UDFAs the Patriots signed after the draft. It will be updated as more players are added to the roster.
Malik Cunningham, QB, Louisville
The Patriots have another quarterback, making four total — Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe, Trace McSorley and now Cunningham.
Here are the terms of his contract, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero:
Cunningham is an exciting player with impressive dual threat handling skills. He completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 1,568 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions in ten games last season. With his speed, he also plays in the open field. Cunningham has rushed for 1,591 yards and 32 touchdowns on the ground in 23 games over the past two seasons.
National media reaction to the signing was quite positive:
Johnny Lumpkin, TE, Louisiana
The Patriots haven’t signed a tight end beyond the 2023 season, so it was quite surprising that they didn’t draft one last weekend.
But they signed Lumpkin, per Jordan Schultz from The Score. Lumpkin has good athletics for his size (6ft 6 and 248lbs). He caught 16 passes for 148 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games last season. In four years in Louisiana, he had 36 receptions for 408 yards and six touchdowns in 28 games.
Lumpkin joins Hunter Henry, Mike Gesicki and Matt Sokol on the Patriots tight end depth chart.
Jourdan Heilig, LB, Appalachia State
Heilig was a special teams star for Appalachian State, and we know Belichick’s appreciation of special teams excellence. Special teams were also a real weakness for the Patriots in 2022, so adding some new talent to the mix makes sense. He had 34 tackles in 29 career games with Appalachian State. Heilig’s signing was reported by Doug Kyed from AtoZ Sports.