With free agency and the draft fast approaching, the Patriots must quickly revamp their roster.
After finishing a second straight season at 4-13, it was clear changes needed to occur.
Last year, former Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said the team had “cash to burn.” He later backtracked those comments as New England’s biggest offseason move was re-signing offensive tackle Mike Onwenu.
Current head coach Mike Vrabel understands the team has holes to fill. He seems to share Mayo’s sentiment, this time with the intention of fulfilling it.
When asked at the NFL combine about the Patriots’ approach to free agency, Vrabel didn’t mince words.
“Hopefully aggressive, we wanna be aggressive,” Vrabel told ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “We wanna target players that we feel like are gonna help us, that are gonna be outstanding players… and if that all fits, and the compensation fits, I’m confident we’ll be aggressive.”
Vrabel can back his words up with action, as the Patriots have the capital and resources to bring quality players to Foxborough.
New England currently has $128 million in cap space, the most in the league. This is almost $30 million more than the Raiders, the team with the second-most cap room.
The team has glaring needs at wide receiver and offensive line, but it could also use some help in other areas.
Vrabel specifically pointed to the Eagles’ 40-22 victory over the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX and how Philadelphia won the battle in the trenches. Both the Eagles’ offensive and defensive line made life easier for Jalen Hurts and much more difficult for Patrick Mahomes.
The Patriots head coach used a car analogy when speaking with MassLive about his spending approach.
“I like to shop like everybody else,” Vrabel said. “And so when you go and there’s only one of a certain car, maybe you have to pay a little bit more for that one car, because there’s only one of them.
“But it’s free agency,” Vrabel added. I think that everybody overspends sometimes in free agency.”
Vrabel mentioned adding a veteran pass catcher to make life easier for second-year quarterback Drake Maye. The Patriots haven’t had a Pro Bowl wide receiver since Wes Welker was selected in 2015.
“One, it’s hard to find. You usually have to draft them. But then sometimes, based on circumstances, available for trade,” Mike Vrabel told Masslive. There’s only so many options in free agency and in trade and the draft. We’ll explore all three of those.”
He’s right. Good wide receivers aren’t usually available in free agency. Tee Higgins is easily the best pass catcher in this cycle, but that’s if the Bengals don’t use the franchise tag on him.
Whether the Patriots acquire offensive help through free agency or not, Mike Vrabel said what Patriots fans across the country want to hear— that an effort will be made.
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