The New England Patriots are cutting ties with another player who was a part of their 2021 spending spree.

Cornerback Jalen Mills will be released by the Patriots, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Friday. Mills was entering the third year of a four-year, $24 million deal, and the move will clear up $5 million in cap space.

The release of Mills comes as a bit of a surprise. Mills started in all 26 games he played in with the Patriots and had various degrees of success. After struggling in his first full season at corner in 2021, Mills had two interceptions in 2022 while opposing quarterbacks completed 27 of 45 passes for 333 yards with two touchdowns with a 79.2 passer rating when targeting him.

Prior to playing boundary corner on a full-time basis with the Patriots, Mills played free safety for a good amount of his five-year tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was really the only player on the Patriots' active roster with a good deal of free safety experience as they're looking to replace Devin McCourty at the position.

But moving on from Mills, who turns 29 in April and missed seven games last season due to a groin injury, suggests they'll be adding an outside option at corner or free safety. Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones and Jack Jones are the only three cornerbacks on the Patriots' active roster who played a good amount last season, while Josh Bledsoe is the only free safety on the roster.

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Mills is the second notable player from the Patriots' major 2021 free-agency spending spree they've moved on from this week. They traded Jonnu Smith to the Atlanta Falcons in a cap-clearing move. Wide receiver Nelson Agholor's contract also expired earlier this week, and it doesn't appear like he'll be returning.

Following Mills' release, the Patriots have roughly $23 million in cap space, per salary cap guru Miguel Benzan. However, that doesn't account for the contracts that Mike Gesicki, James Robinson, Joe Cardona, Daniel Ekuale, Calvin Anderson and Mack Wilson have reportedly signed.