The legal tampering period of NFL free agency began at noon Monday, which means players can now agree to new contracts with teams.
These deals cannot become official until the new league year begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.
The New England Patriots were huge spenders on the free agent market last year. They acquired Matthew Judon, Jalen Mills, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith and others in free agency.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Curran: Which free agents make the most sense for Patriots?
New England doesn't have a ton of salary cap space in 2022 -- about ? million. The Patriots could open up cap space in a variety of ways, including restructuring contracts, releasing players and trading them away.
Wide receiver, linebacker and cornerback are among the Patriots' biggest needs entering free agency, and they've already been linked to several players in recent reports/rumors. New England also has many of its own players hitting free agency, most notably J.C. Jackson, Dont'a Hightower, Matthew Slater and James White, among others.
Follow all the latest Patriots rumors, news, contract details and more with our free agency live blog for Monday.
5:25 p.m.: J.C. Jackson is headed to the Chargers on a huge contract.
4:37 p.m.: Matthew Judon gives an update on his recruiting efforts.
4:15 p.m.: The Chargers have made a formal offer to J.C. Jackson.
3:22 p.m.: All quiet on the Jarvis Landry front right now (at least from a Pats perspective).
2:40 p.m.: Here's the salary figure for Slater. It's a one-year deal for the special teams ace.
1:44 p.m.: It looks like Matthew Slater is coming back to the Patriots.
Offensive lineman Ted Karras is leaving New England.
1:30 p.m.: Matthew Judon is out doing some recruiting for the Patriots.
1:20 p.m. ET: Here's a quick rundown of Patriots-related items from the last few hours.
--The Patriots have shown interest in wide receivers D.J. Chark (Jaguars) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Packers), per multiple reports.
New England Patriots
--Patriots guard Shaq Mason has drawn interest on the trade market, per Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald.
--The Chargers and Dolphins are among the teams interested in Patriots free agent cornerback J.C. Jackson, per multiple reports.