There are some scorching-hot takes floating around about the Patriots, and many of them could turn freezing cold by the end of the week. But, at this stage of the offseason, fans are justified in feeling nervous about New England’s activity — or lack thereof.
The Ravens have bolstered their secondary and added Za’Darius Smith. The Denver Broncos have added Randy Gregory and something named Russell Wilson. The Cleveland Browns brought in Amari Cooper and might have a real shot at trading for Deshaun Watson. The Los Angeles Chargers retained Mike Williams, traded for Khalil Mack and signed J.C. Jackson away from the Patriots. The Miami Dolphins added a pair of promising offensive players in Chase Edmonds and Cedric Wilson. The AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals have done the one thing they needed to do: bolster their offensive line (at the expense of the Patriots). The Las Vegas Raiders, with five ex-New England coaches, including Josh McDaniels, landed Chandler Jones and signed a couple of former Patriots. The Pittsburgh Steelers inked Myles Jack — who would’ve been a perfect fit in New England — and arguably upgraded at quarterback, which probably says more about Ben Roethlisberger than it does Mitch Trubisky. The New York Jets added a good tight end and a cornerback who would’ve been a solid replacement for Jackson with the Patriots. The Jacksonville Jaguars arguably have been the overall winners of NFL free agency. You could argue the Indianapolis Colts are better now than they were a week ago by virtue of getting something (a lot, actually) for Carson Wentz.
And all of that happened before Wednesday evening, when the Buffalo Bills, the same Buffalo Bills who annihilated New England in the AFC wild-card round, signed Von Miller and O.J. Howard. Oh, and we already have mentioned 12 of the 16 AFC teams.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s that the Kansas City Chiefs have stood pat (so far), as have the Tennessee Titans. And the Houston Texans remain completely useless. You could talk yourself into believing the Bills overpaid for Miller, too. Also, Watson just might be ticketed for the NFC, but we’ll have to wait and see.
The Patriots? They’ve signed just one outside free agent, journeyman corner Terrance Mitchell, and re-signed James White, Devin McCourty, Matthew Slater, Nick Folk and Brian Hoyer, all of whom are at least 30 years old. New England also flipped Chase Winovich to the Browns for seldom-used linebacker Mack Wilson and traded Shaq Mason, one of the best guards in football, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a fifth-round pick. We’ll see what happens with New England’s remaining free agents, including a trio of linebackers.
And then there’s the offensive coaching staff, which reportedly has “flabbergasted” people around the NFL.
So, yeah, it’s hard to feel good about what the Patriots have done to this point. They never were going to match the wild spending spree of last offseason, but it’s reasonable to expect the Patriots to build upon the gains they made in 2021 and further improve a playoff-caliber roster.
Whether you buy into the belief that New England must add a superstar receiver, there’s no denying the Patriots have fallen behind some of their AFC peers in the talent department, especially on defense. Jerod Mayo will be the first to tell you that the Patriots aren’t fast or explosive enough on the defensive side of the ball.
So, what gives?
Defenders of what Bill Belichick is doing (this writer included) will use the salary cap as an excuse. The Patriots currently have around $13 million in cap space, per cap guru Miguel Benzan, and might be wary about making the kind of manipulations necessary to create more space. The bill always comes due.
And there’s merit to that argument. However, it’s a tough pill to swallow for fans who watch a team like the Bills, with less cap space than the Patriots, swing big for someone like Miller.
Moreover, many use New England’s history as a way to justify its current approach. The Patriots, after going all-in last offseason when other teams were cap-strapped during a pandemic year, are back to bargain shopping and identifying high-value plays. And, again, you don’t have to be crazy to believe that Belichick and the Patriots know what they’re doing, and are doing the right thing.
But fans understandably are getting antsy after watching Tom Brady win a Super Bowl with the Bucs, suffering through a season of Cam Newton’s dead arm and accepting the reality that Buffalo now owns the division. Yes, Mac Jones looks like a franchise quarterback, but that doesn’t mean everything. Things can change quickly (for better or for worse) in the NFL — just ask half the teams in that too-long paragraph we made.
The good news is that this story is far from over. If the Patriots sign Allen Robinson or trade for Robby Anderson, find good players to fill holes on the offensive line, at linebacker and in the secondary, and have another good draft, the narrative will completely change. And there’s reason to believe all of those things could happen, as evidenced by New England’s hit rate in last year’s free agency and the 2021 Draft.
Plus, Belichick still is in charge. Even at his age (70 years old in a month), he is more than deserving of the benefit of the doubt, along with a little patience.
But the world, including the football world, is a different place than it was during the Brady-Belichick heyday, and patience is increasingly difficult to come by. If the Patriots don’t start making some noise this offseason, they might lose something more than fan optimism.
