The Patriots defensive makeover continued on Sunday with the team adding a linebacker to the mix.
According to a source, the Patriots have reached an agreement with linebacker Brandon Copeland on a one-year deal. The 28-year-old is certainly familiar to the Pats as he spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets.
This offseason, the Patriots have lost three linebackers _ Kyle Van Noy, Jamie Collins and Elandon Roberts. Copeland marks the first linebacker the Pats have added to their depth chart since their departures.
At 6-foot-3, 263 pounds, Copeland is an outside linebacker who has had success in the NFL. In 2018, he played in 16 games, starting 10, for the Jets. That year he set career-highs in sacks (five), quarterback hits (13), and tackles for loss (eight). Last season, Copeland was suspended the first four games of the 2019 season for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. He played 12 games, making three starts, to go with a career-high 42 tackles and 1.5 sacks
An undrafted free agent out of Penn, the 28-year-old spent time in Baltimore and Tennessee before making his NFL debut in Detroit. Copeland spent three seasons with Lions, making 30 tackles in 32 games, where he was predominantly a special- teams player in 2015 and 2016. He missed the 2017 season because of a torn pectoral.
The Patriots have some work to do to fill the gaps that Van Noy, Collins and Roberts leave behind. But Copeland represents a low-risk move that could provide solid defensive depth. He joins linebackers/edge rushers Dont'a Hightower, John Simon, Chase Winovich, Derek Rivers and Terez Hall on the depth chart.
