NFL free agency 2023: Patriots re-sign linebacker Mack Wilson to reported 1-year, $2.2 million contract

New England Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson will not be going anywhere.

The unrestricted free agent will stay with the Patriots on a new one-year contract. The deal carries a price tag of $2.2 million, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, but the yet-to-be reported structure will show exactly what this means for New England’s salary cap.

Wilson, 25, originally joined the team last year via trade. The Patriots sent fellow linebacker Chase Winovich to the Cleveland Browns to obtain his services.

Serving as both and off-the-ball linebacker and special teamer, he appeared in all 17 of the Patriots’ games in 2022. Wilson played 234 of a possible 1,130 snaps (20.7%) on defense, but he did not see any defensive snaps at all from Week 14 on. He registered 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble, but also was credited with eight missed tackles on 44 attempts (18.2%).

Wilson’s most consistent playing time came in the kicking game. A four-unit special teamer, he ending the season with 284 snaps in the game’s third phase (of 457; 62.1%). Only four players saw more action than him, and only two — Brenden Schooler and Matthew Slater — registered more than his 10 tackles.

The Patriots apparently liked what they saw, and have now brought him back. The Houston Texans and Wilson’s former team, the Browns, were reportedly also interested in his services.

A fifth-round selection out of Alabama in the 2019 draft, Wilson spent the first three years of his career in Cleveland. He appeared in 45 games for the club before his trade to New England last offseason.