The New England Patriots and free agent guard Mike Onwenu are in agreement on a three-year, $57 million deal, a source told ESPN.
The 6-foot-3, 350-pound Onwenu has developed from a 2020 sixth-round pick to one of the NFL's highly regarded free agents this offseason. His durability and versatility to play guard and tackle are primary assets, as he has played in 64 career regular-season games with 56 starts.
Of those starts, 24 have come at right guard, 24 at right tackle, five at left guard and three as a tackle-eligible tight end.
Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick had previously said that Onwenu was "built to play guard," but Onwenu had been moved to tackle for parts of the 2020, 2021 and 2023 seasons when the team found itself in a bind due to a combination of injuries and shaky performance.
Onwenu, 26, was open to the switch and acknowledged it could ultimately make him more valuable as a free agent.
Onwenu's rookie contract was for four years and totaled $3.497 million. He received a $202,000 signing bonus as part of the deal, so he is now elevating to a much higher level financially.
In a reflection of how Onwenu's play exceeded his initial contract, he earned an additional $813,083 as part of the NFL's performance-based-pay program for the 2022 season -- the fourth-highest total of any player in the league that year.