The New England Patriots will not extend a restricted free agent tender to guard Lester Cotton, per ESPN's Mike Reiss.
This news came on the same day that the Patriots tendered restricted free agent linebacker Christian Elliss at the right-of-first-refusal level. Cotton was claimed by the Patriots on waivers last November. Now, the team is allowing him to explore other options in free agency.
Cotton played at the University of Alabama and went undrafted in 2019. He has appeared in 46 regular season games and started in nine of them. In his limited time in New England, he appeared in three games for the Patriots last season.