Secondary Depth: What the Signing of CB Terrance Mitchell Means for the Patriots

Per reports, Mitchell’s deal with the New England Patriots is for one-year, worth $3 million.

With the official start of the 2022 League Year just hours away, the New England Patriots have their first free agent acquisition from outside the organization.

As first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the team has signed cornerback Terrance Mitchell to a one-year, $3 million contract.

Mitchell, a seven-year NFL veteran, spent the 2021 season as a member of the Houston Texans’ defensive backfield. Originally a seventh-round draft selection by the Dallas Cowboys in 2014, the former Oregon Duck has also spent time with the Chicago Bears, Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns. Throughout his career, Mitchell has appeared in 83 regular season games as well as four playoff contests. During that time, he has compiled 60 passes-defensed, nine forced fumbles and eight interceptions.

In 2021, Mitchell played 14 games in the Texans’ secondary, starting 13 of them as an outside cornerback. He allowed 45 receptions on 76 targets for 556 yards as well as five touchdowns and one interception. One of his three forced fumbles came against the Patriots in Week Five, as Mitchell was able to knock the ball from the grasp of running back Damien Harris during an attempted scoring drive. .

Despite factoring prominently in Houston’s defensive snap counts in the previous season, the team released Mitchell last week, as they look to improve upon their dismal performance when defending the pass.

Though he may have struggled in 2021. Mitchell should fit well into the Patriots secondary. Following the departure of Pro Bowl cornerback J.C. Jackson to the Los Angeles Chargers, New England has a clear need to enhance its depth on the defensive perimeter. As primarily an outside corner, Mitchell will help to provide depth at the position.

When it comes to scheme fit, Mitchell should be able to play multiple roles for New England. During his time in Kansas City, the 29-year-old was used in a lot of one-deep man-coverage schemes. He built upon that experience when moving on to Cleveland, where he was effective in both aggressive man-based schemes (under then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams) and pattern-match zone schemes under Steve Wilks, who succeeded Williams. In Houston, defensive coordinator Lovie Smith ran a Tampa 2-style zone defense, which provided him with much time on the field. In short, Mitchell is versatile enough to blend into multiple schemes, which the Patriots may employ depending on their personnel in the upcoming season.

Because Mitchell was released by the Texans on March 10, his signing signing will not count towards the compensatory pick formula for the Patriots in 2023. He joins Jalen Mills, Jonathan Jones, Myles Bryant, Shaun Wade, Joejuan Williams and Justin Bethel on the Patriots cornerback depth chart.