Tight end C.J. Dippre and wide receiver Efton Chism received record guarantees in their respective deals.
After already adding a league-high 11 players to their roster in last month’s draft, the New England Patriots were also among the most active teams in the NFL in signing rookie free agents.
In total, 16 of them initially found their way to Foxborough. Among them were two who were given record-breaking contracts.
According to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, the deals signed by tight end C.J. Dippre and wide receiver Efton Chism III included total guarantees of $264,000 and $259,000, respectively. For comparison, the biggest such number previously given out by the Patriots was $211,000 to running back Jeff Demps in 2012.
A steady increase in both salary cap space and rookie compensation pool contributed to this development. It is still noteworthy, however, that it took 13 years for the previous record to be bested.
This suggests two things: 1.) The Patriots under their new-look leadership of Mike Vrabel, Eliot Wolf and Ryan Cowden are willing to invest heavily in certain players that are identified as fits rather than spread the wealth evenly among UDFAs; 2.) They faced heavy competition for the services of Dippre and Chism.
It is not hard to see why the latter might have been the case.
Dippre, standing at 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds, started 37 career games between stints at Alabama and Maryland. While not posting eye-opening numbers at either school, he showed himself capable of contributing both as a receiver and a blocker as well as a special teamer.
Chism, meanwhile, fits the mold of a classic Patriots slot receiver. While lacking size (5’10”, 193 lbs) and straight-line speed (4.71s 40), he had a productive five-year career at Eastern Washington due to his route-running abilities and short-area quickness.
Both prospects drawing a lot of attention in rookie free agency was no surprise. Neither was the Patriots targeting them, and they ended up making proper investments to ensure adding them to an offense in need of all the talent it can get.
Dippre and Chism received $234,000 each in salary guarantees. They also received $30,000 and $25,000 in respective signing bonuses.
But while those numbers stand out relative to other Patriots UDFA contracts through the years, they do not mean that either Dippre or Chism are guaranteed spots on their roster or practice squad. For that to happen, the two youngsters will still need to prove themselves worthy over the course of the offseason and particularly training camp.
The jury is still out on that.