High School

Patriots Release DeMatha Grad; Diggs Introduced

Ja’Whaun Bentley won a Super Bowl with New England in 2019.

Brandy Simms

New England Patriots linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley (8), a DeMatha grad, was a three-time captain and a Super Bowl champion with the Patriots. The team released him Friday.
New England Patriots linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley (8), a DeMatha grad, was a three-time captain and a Super Bowl champion with the Patriots. The team released him Friday. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

The New England Patriots have released starting linebacker and Glenarden, Maryland native and former DeMatha Catholic star Ja’Whaun Bentley. 

Bentley, a three-time team captain and Super Bowl champion for New England, posted an appreciation message to the Patriots on social media. 

The 6-foot-2, 250-pound linebacker was on New England’s roster in 2019 when the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3, in Super Bowl LIII. 

Bentley, who played college football at Purdue, was selected by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the 143rd overall pick in the draft. He missed most of the 2024 season because of a torn pectoral muscle he suffered against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. 

During his high school career competing in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, Bentley emerged as a highly sought after recruit. 

Bentley, who was named first team All-WCAC during his senior campaign, selected Purdue over offers from Iowa, Marshall, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia, West Virginia and others. 

Bentley, however, wasn’t the only Maryland native and former WCAC standout making news within the Patriots organization.  

New England introduced four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver and Good Counsel product Stefon Diggs who signed a free agent deal with the Patriots for three years, $69 million including $26 million guaranteed according to reports. Diggs, a Gaithersburg, Maryland native, suffered a torn ACL in October during his lone season with the Houston Texans. 

Diggs was asked about the status of his rehabilitation after undergoing surgery on the knee. “Right now I’m ahead of schedule,” he said, “and trying to stay ahead of schedule. We’ll keep playing it by ear...Stay healthy and the rest will take care of itself.” 

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Brandy Simms
BRANDY SIMMS

Brandy Simms is an award-winning sports journalist who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the DMV for more than 30 years including the NFL, NBA and WNBA. He has an extensive background in both print and broadcast media and has freelanced for SLAM, Dime Magazine and The Washington Post. A former Sports Editor for The Montgomery County Sentinel, Simms captured first place honors in the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association 2006 Editorial Contest for a sports column entitled “Remembering Len Bias.” The Oakland, California native began his postgraduate career at WMAL-AM Radio in Washington, D.C. where he produced the market’s top-rated sports talk show “Sports Call” with host Ken Beatrice. A former Sports Director for “Cable News 21,” Simms also produced sports at WJLA-TV and served as host of the award-winning “Metro Sports Connection” program on Montgomery Community Television. Simms is a frequent contributor to various radio and television sports talk shows in the Washington, D.C. market. In 2024, he made his national television debut on “The Rich Eisen Show” on the Roku Channel. He began contributing to High School On SI in 2025.

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