Skip Bayless is not impressed with the New England Patriots’ free agency spending spree.
Although Bill Belichick last week addressed many of New England’s various needs, shelling out a bunch of money in the process, Bayless can’t help but feel like the Patriots’ moves were made out of desperation one year after losing Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I have just one response to (Patriots owner) Mr. (Robert) Kraft: Welcome to life without Tom Brady,” Bayless said on Tuesday’s episode of “Undisputed” on FS1. “I’m sorry, I don’t care how you want to spin this, Tom Brady left this organization in shambles. They are flailing. They are desperate.
“Tom Brady made Mr. Kraft look like the greatest owner in the history of sports, and there’s a lot of quality and a lot to respect in that man, no doubt about that. But he got a lot of credit for just standing in the background and being there when necessary and just staying out of the way. And Bill Belichick got a lot of credit for being a genius head coach — when I’ll give you ‘genius defensive coordinator.’ Or at least an all-time great one. But when it comes to team building, this looks all-time desperate to me. This looks like splash and cash the way nobody did in this whole free agency period.”
The Patriots wasted no time dipping into the open market, agreeing to deals with several high-profile free agents immediately after the NFL’s legal tampering period began March 15. The additions include tight ends Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry, wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor, defensive linemen Davon Godchaux and Henry Anderson, edge rusher Matt Judon and defensive back Jalen Mills, among others.
This splurge, which came on the heels of New England re-signing quarterback Cam Newton and trading for offensive lineman Trent Brown, is uncharacteristic of the Patriots, who typically are more prudent in their financial expenditures.
But the Pats had holes across their roster, on both sides of the ball, and cash to burn. It’s fair to assume New England saw this as an opportunity to retool, after a 7-9 season, while most of the league dealt with the ramifications of the NFL’s salary cap dropping for the first time in years.
“The biggest shock of free agency is what a slow rollout it’s been, because I thought everybody would splash cash on Day 1. I know the cap is falling. I know money can be tight. But there were six teams that had big money,” Bayless said. “And again, Robert Kraft said, ‘We have the third-most money.’ Well, they spent the first-most by far. By far. They’ve still go some money, I got it. But they came out of the blocks and just threw money every direction, and it felt willy-nilly to me, because Robert Kraft woke up last year and said, ‘Wait a second, we’re about to go 7-9? How could that be?’
“Because all he’s ever known for the most part is Tom Terrific, man. Tom will figure it out. Tom will overcome. Tom will win in spite of. And he just did again and again and again. It didn’t matter how many poor moves, how many suspect moves Bill Belichick made as the team builder, as the GM of the Patriots. Brady always cancelled it out, because Brady would rise above. That’s just what he does.”
On paper, the Patriots look poised to bounce back in 2021, even though there’s still a huge question mark surrounding their quarterback situation. But games obviously aren’t won on paper, and Bayless clearly isn’t sold that New England’s flashy approach to free agency will yield on-field improvement.
Meanwhile, for what it’s worth, the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers managed to keep most of their key free agents thanks to Brady signing a team-friendly contract extension.
