Mike Onwenu is officially part of the New England Patriots’ plans in 2026. But he’ll be taking a bit of a pay cut.
The Patriots’ starting right guard, who was entering the final year of his three-year, $57 million contract, has signed a revised one-year, $10 million deal for the 2026 season, per PatsCap.
Onwenu’s new deal includes $8.95 million fully guaranteed and lowers his cap hit from $25 million to $17.5 million for the 2026 season.
The timing of Onwenu’s revised deal is notable on a few fronts.
For starters, he’s still set to hit free agency in 2027 and still carries the third-highest cap hit on the team behind Milton Williams and Carlton Davis. While Onwenu was a rock-solid right guard for New England last season and hasn’t missed a game in two years, he’ll turn 29 in December, and it’s worth wondering whether the Patriots will explore more cost-effective options at the position going forward.
Onwenu’s new deal also comes just three days before June 1, when the Philadelphia Eagles officially can trade wide receiver A.J. Brown with a greatly reduced dead cap hit. The expectation for weeks has been that the Patriots will trade for Brown on or shortly after June 1, and the Pro Bowl wideout comes with a $23.9 million cap hit, so it’s possible New England is freeing up some cap space to absorb his contract.
It’s also possible the Patriots are creating extra space for a Christian Gonzalez extension. The star cornerback is set to make just $4.8 million this season on the final year of his rookie contract but is eligible for an extension this summer and could command a new deal worth more than $30 million per year. (The NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, Trent McDuffie, makes $31 million per year.)
The Patriots have plenty of cap space ($43 million, fifth-most in the NFL), but if they want to trade for Brown and extend Gonzalez this offseason, they need all the space they can get. The decision to rework Onwenu’s contract would aid in those efforts, and could be a sign of other moves to come shortly in Foxboro.
