Patriots’ Jerod Mayo Walks Back ‘Burn Some Cash’ Comment

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo might have gotten ahead of himself when he claimed New England was going to "burn some cash" this offseason.

That's actually putting it nicely. He definitely got ahead of himself.

Mayo, after officially receiving his promotion, did the media rounds and was asked a few pointed questions regarding how ownership would allow him to operate. He was asked specifically whether the Patriots would be active in free agency, and stated New England was "1,000%" bringing in talent and ready to "burn some cash."

It clearly was said in a joking manner, but people latched onto the idea that New England would be big spenders this offseason. It got so out of hand, that Mayo felt the need to clarify his comments in a one-on-one with Karen Guregian of MassLive.

"I kind of misspoke when I said 'burn some cash' but I was excited when you see those numbers," Mayo told Guregian. "When you reflect on those numbers… you don't have to spend all of it in one year."

Mayo might just be trying to temper expectations back to a reasonable level, but the quotes themselves might not sit well with Patriots fans.

"This is going to be a process. I don’t want people to think, 'you got $60 million, $70 million, whatever, so let's get this guy, that guy, that guy,' Mayo said. "... It may work for a couple games, or maybe a season, but it won't work long term."

New England's best course of action was always to build its core through the draft and supplement with free-agent additions. The Patriots' biggest needs are at premium positions, and paying a quarterback, two tackles and multiple wide receivers isn't going to do anything but shorten whatever window that ends up opening.

The Patriots need to hit on the majority of their offseason moves if they hope to compete soon, and they just might need to hit on all of them if they want to compete for a long time. That's true for both the draft and free agency, especially if they can't "burn" any of their cash.