Through the first nine weeks of the NFL season, the Patriots showed little interest in investing resources in veteran players. That changed on Friday.

The Patriots claimed veteran pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue off waivers from the Ravens. Since the 29-year-old was added to the roster Friday at 4 p.m., he did not play in Sunday’s 19-3 win over the Bears.

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“We’re excited to get Yannick here,” head coach Jerod Mayo said Monday. “I’ve watched him on tape for a very long time. He’s been a very productive player in this league. He has not met with the team yet. In saying that, he’ll get with the coaches here soon. I’m excited to really teach him the playbook and excited to see what he will bring to this team. Look, he’s not just a pass rusher. This guy has the skill set to be able to play on all three downs, which is always exciting.

“Kudos to the scouting department and all those guys for always trying to improve our roster, and we see this as a way of improving us now and going forward.”

Ironically, the Patriots had their best pass-rushing performance of the season after claiming Ngakoue. The Patriots sacked Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams nine times, though they had a lot of help with strong coverage in the secondary.

The Patriots believe Ngakoue is happy to join their 3-7 squad despite coming from a 7-3 Ravens team with Super Bowl aspirations.

“I’ve had a chance to connect with him, and I would say multiple coaches have also,” Mayo said. “Defensive coaches have connected with him. He’s excited for the opportunity and so are we.”

Ngakoue joins Keion White, Anfernee Jennings, Deatrich Wise and Ochaun Mathis in their edge group. Linebackers Curtis Jacobs, Jahlani Tavai and Sione Takitaki also played on the line of scrimmage Sunday.