Cardinals DL Signing With Patriots

The Arizona Cardinals are losing one of their defensive tackles.

Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga (95) works through a drill during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Monday, July 29, 2024. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals are losing defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga to the New England Patriots.

According to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, the Patriots are signing Tonga to a one-year, $2.7 million contract.

Tonga - 28 years old - spent one season in Arizona and is entering his fifth total year in the league. Tonga also previously played for the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.

The Patriots - who also signed former Cardinals quarterback Joshua Dobbs - have been one of the more active teams in free agency. As of publish of this article, New England's $222 million in total contracts awarded is second in the NFL according to OverTheCap.

In 13 games for the Cardinals last season, Tonga tallied 22 tackles. As a rotational piece, he didn't play much, accruing just 27% of defensive snaps along Arizona's trenches.

Tonga now lands on a Patriots team looking to rebuild under new head coach Mike Vrabel. With quarterback Drake Maye in the fold, there's hope New England can turn things around.

The Cardinals did lose to the Patriots in a bidding war for free agent defensive lineman Milton Williams - you can read more about that here.

Naquan Jones, Angelo Blackson and Roy Lopez are other Cardinals defensive linemen hitting free agency.

Arizona was looking to re-tool their defensive line ahead of 2025 with over $70 million in cap space entering free agency on top of six picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Cardinals have signed outside free agents such as Josh Sweat and Akeem Davis-Gaither.

Players to re-sign with the organization are Joey Blount, Aaron Brewer, Baron Browning, Evan Brown and Kelvin Beachum.

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