The Patriots added to their defensive tackle group on Sunday.
The New England Patriots made a move ahead of their 2025 training camp, signing free agent defensive tackle David Olajiga. A member of the International Pathway Player Program (IPPP), he joined the team as a roster-exempt 91st player.
What does the signing mean for the Patriots, though? Let’s find out.
More depth up front
We are probably not going out on too much of a limb here when we say that Olajiga is a long shot to make the Patriots’ 53-man roster. That does not mean he won’t bring value to the team or indeed become a contributor further down the line.
In the short term, the 27-year-old will provide another body up front to help spread the practice workload this training camp. With him in the fold, New England now has nine interior defensive lineman under contract:
Interior defensive line (9*): Christian Barmore (90), Milton Williams (97), Joshua Farmer (92), Khyiris Tonga (95), Jeremiah Pharms Jr. (98), Jaquelin Roy (94), Jahvaree Ritzie (93), Isaiah Iton (96), David Olajiga (96 | IPPP)
Headlined by Christian Barmore and Milton Williams, the group looks very promising at the top of the depth chart. There are, however, questions about the backup options behind them and whether or not any of them can carve out regular roles in the rotation — including Olajiga.
Standing at 6-foot-3, 310 pounds, he primarily projects as an early-down nose tackle in New England. As such, he can be considered a backup behind Khyiris Tonga.
Long-term potential?
In the long term, the hope might be for Olajiga to follow a trajectory similar to that of Jeremiah Pharms Jr.: joining the Patriots shortly before their 2022 training camp, Pharms Jr. has since developed into a rotational reserve option up front and signed a two-year contract extension this offseason.
Obviously no two players and situations are alike, and that is true for Olajiga and Pharms Jr. as well; not only do they come from different backgrounds, they also play slightly different positions up front. Still the latter shows that overcoming the odds as a late arrival — both relative to the NFL calendar and his age — is certainly possible, even if it might take some time to do so.
Salary cap implications
Even though the full details of Olajiga’s contract with the Patriots are not yet available, expect it to be of the minimum for a player of his experience. A 2024 rookie free agent who spent his entire first year in the NFL on the Los Angeles Rams’ practice squad, he has no accrued seasons under his belt.
As a consequence, his base salary will be set at a non-guaranteed $840,000. With no signing bonus expected to be part of the pact, and that salary figure not high enough to qualify for Top 51 status, Olajiga will not count against New England’s cap at the moment.
Roster exemption revisited
As noted above, the UK-born Olajiga is a participant of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and as such exempt from the roster. This, in turn, allows New England to carry 91 players into training camp and the preseason.
While Olajiga is allowed to participate in both without restriction, his exemption will end ahead of the regular season. If the Patriots want to keep him on their 53-man team, he would then have to take up a regular spot on the roster; likewise, if they want to have him on their “regular” 16-player practice squad — including the possibility of promoting him to the game day squad — he too would have to shed his roster exemption.
The Patriots have experience with both. Fullback Jakob Johnson arrived in 2019 as an IPPP member but was signed to the normal practice squad and later promoted to the active roster. Likewise, defensive edge Jotham Russell spent all of 2024 as an exempt 17th practice squad player ineligible to see any game action.
What the Patriots will do with Olajiga will depend on his performance over the next few weeks.