Veteran OTs Donovan Smith & Charles Leno Not Interested In Signing With Patriots

According to a report from Mike Giardi, two of the top veteran free agent tackles available — Donovan Smith and Charles Leno — currently aren’t interested in signing with the Patriots. 

Patriots HC Jerod Mayo has maintained that the team is happy with the current group of tackles on the roster, despite the injuries and general poor play of the group as a whole. 

He reiterated again on Wednesday the Patriots aren’t looking to sign a veteran tackle right now, per Doug Kyed.

At the very least, it seems like the disinterest could be mutual. 

Smith, 31, is a former second-round pick of the Buccaneers back in 2015 out of Penn State. He played out the final year of his four-year, $6.068 million contract before agreeing to a three-year, $41.25 million contract with the Buccaneers in 2019 that included $27 million fully guaranteed. 

He was due to make a base salary of $15.25 million in 2023 when the Buccaneers released him. Smith later signed a one-year contract with the Chiefs worth up to $9 million. 

In 2023, Smith appeared in 12 games for the Chiefs, making 12 starts for them at left tackle. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 61 tackle out of 81 qualifying players.

Leno, 32, is a former seventh-round pick of the Bears back in 2014. He played out his four-year, $2,266,512 rookie contract before signing a four-year, $38 million extension in 2017.

He was entering the final year of his deal and set to make a base salary of $8.9 million in 2021 when the Bears designated him a June 1 cut in the offseason.

From there, Washington signed Leno to a one-year, $5 million deal for the 2021 season and then signed a three-year, $37.5 million extension in 2022. He was entering the final year of his deal and set to make a base salary of $11 million in 2024 when Washington released him. 

In 2023, Leno appeared in 13 games and started each game at left tackle. 

We have both included in our Top 100 Available Free Agents list.