The NFL's Biggest Mystery is the Status of Patriots Edge Gabe Jacas, the Only Unsigned 2nd Round Rookie in the League

It takes a big man to admit when he's wrong. Or so I'm told. As someone with lots of experience at being a big man, but precious little at being wrong, I'm not the one to ask. 

Instead I'll just say with this X post, I may have gotten a little bit ahead of myself. Because it's been seven weeks since the Patriots drafted Gabe Jacas. A move which cost them more than just the 55th pick. To move up to get him, they packaged th3 63rd, 131st and 202nd. Making him the second of three picks Mike Vrabel was in the War Room for before he used up one of his PTO days. So the Jacas pick was significant. They obviously targeted him, made him a priority, and there is a lot riding on his success. 

But the thing of it is, he hasn't been seen around Boston Stadium Gillette (piss off, FIFA; you're not the boss of us) in weeks and we're exactly halfway through June. And no one has exactly said why, beyond Vrabel saying he's still unsigned:

To be clear, Jacas isn't the only draft pick not under contract. In fact, he's not even the highest. That honor goes to Fernando Mendoza, followed closely by Ty Simpson. The difference being that the whole world knows the only two first round QBs will get signed and this is over details no one cares about. Scheduling on signing bonuses, offset language, voiding mechanisms, and the Standard Model of Lagrangian density as defined by Euler-Lagrange equations. (I threw that last part in there as a test.) Aside from the outliers at QB (including No. 65 Carson Beck), Jacas is the highest drafted unsigned pick at any other position. And people are beginning to as questions:

Source -  Here's what we know:

Jacas reported to the Patriots' facility for rookie minicamp May 7 and was watching from the sideline in his blue No. 50 jersey when media members were present for the second day of rookie minicamp on May 9.

At that time, Jacas and first-round offensive tackle Caleb Lomu were the Patriots' lone unsigned draft picks. But Lomu, like the majority of other unsigned picks across the NFL, participated in practice anyway. Jacas didn't, which reflects that he wasn't medically cleared to practice. …

Jacas had a hamstring injury in the predraft process. …  But he was healthy enough to work out at his personal pro day April 2 and ran a 4.69 in the 40-yard dash, with a 10-yard split of 1.59.

Two sources from different NFL teams said their clubs gave Jacas a passing grade on his physical exam, although both noted a labral tear in his shoulder that could eventually require medical attention, and one noted a stress fracture in his foot that could potentially worsen over time.

But a source familiar with Jacas' recovery said he underwent a knee procedure that was described as a "clean-up." It is not known whether something happened after Jacas' physical exam and subsequent recheck at the combine, or when the Patriots had him in for a predraft visit the week of April 20, and that information wasn't disclosed to the team. …

One high-ranking NFL executive hypothesized that the Patriots are likely seeking a level of financial protection in the contract based on the medical procedure, which would explain the holdup. …

Jacas hasn't been with the Patriots since May, according to a source. His absence is tied, in part, to not being given a standard "participation agreement" from the Patriots, according to a source. Most draft picks receive such an agreement, which states that if they were to sustain an injury prior to signing their first NFL contract, the team would still be obligated to sign him to a contract based on the slot he was drafted.

So to dumb this down into metaphors that even I can understand, it sounds very much like the Pats did the home inspection, checked off everything on the inspector's punchlist, put down their deposit, and were ready to sign the Purchase and Sale. But on the final walk through, they find something they didn't like. Water in the basement. Black mold in the attic. Mouse poop. Something big enough to want something in writing they didn't just sign up to buy a money pit. 

The difference being that you can wait to get repairs done, and a few weeks later, the house will be exactly what you wanted. Jacas hasn't been seen around One Patriots Place in weeks. Which theoretically are the most important weeks of your NFL career. Missing meetings, installation of the defensive playbook, mini camp, time with his position group and coaches. Which is very much like missing a week of math class. Everything builds on everything that came before it. And while you're trying to catch up on the chapters you missed, the rest of the class has already moved on. Ask any teacher how kids who had to miss school during Covid did. Good like finding one who doesn't say they all appreciably harder to teach. Jacas is missing the equivalent of the first month of first grade. You might be able to find some examples of guys who missed large chunks of their first offseason and still distinguished themselves as rookies. But the list of guys who did is a fraction of the number who never amounted to anything. See N'Keal Harry and Tyquan Thornton as two recent Patriots examples. 

Advertisement

So even while it's just mid-June, there's no putting a shine on this sneaker. This situation sucks, at a very big area of need in New England, with Harold Landry coming off knee surgery, Dre'Mont Jones as a starter, and Elijah Ponder and Bradyn Swinson still establishing themselves. The pass rush was the definition of "mid" last year (16th in Pro Football Focus grade) needed improvement. Jacas is supposed to be a huge part of it. And the longer this goes, the less likely that will be. Stay tuned. This could go all summer.