We’re running a mailbag on Fridays during the offseason. If you have questions on the Patriots, NFL, or want gripe about past answers, email cmason@masslive.com or tweet @bychrismason. Now let’s get to this week’s questions!
Will the Krafts eventually decide to spend money on the field? I mean, it just seems like they are content with signing players from the discount bin — Shane M.
The Patriots did take a significant swing at Calvin Ridley, reportedly offering him (at least) $22 million per season. But by and large this offseason certainly hasn’t lived up to the “burn some cash” expectation — and there’s no Bill Belichick to point the finger at.
As it stands, New England owns the most cap space of any team in the NFL — they still have roughly $50 million — and they’re 23rd in the league in cash spending for the 2024 season, per OverTheCap. Those two figures make sense side-by-side, so it’s not like one is cherry-picked. Last season, the Patriots finished 25th in cash spending, and Kraft was irked by the idea that he was the one responsible for the team not shelling out more money on players.
“I know there’s a perception that we have held back on spending,” Kraft told reporters at the Super Bowl. “Let me just say, for our fans, that’s just not true. Look, we were blessed to have a coach in our system (Belichick) who was a great coach and also understood value. He ran a tight ship.”
With a new captain at the helm — Eliot Wolf — the bottom line is in the same ballpark.
“They say we’ve been low spenders in the last 10 years, and that might be true,” Kraft said. “But we had a pretty good record. And we won three Super Bowls. But our coaches have always had the ability to spend at whatever level they wanted. I think Bill was always thinking about the future and really understood value. But we never held back with any of the coaches we’ve had over the last 30 years.
“They’ve been able to get whatever they want. If cash spending became an issue for our family, and we couldn’t do it, then I would sell the team. Winning football games, after my family, is the most important thing in my life. Whatever we can do to help make that happen, we’re going to do.”
So how can the Patriots get back to winning football games? Though they’re staring down a multi-year rebuild, an infusion of high end talent would certainly help expedite things.
The cream of the free agency crop has already come and gone, but New England could still trade for a franchise-tagged player — WR Tee Higgins, CB L’Jarius Sneed, DE Josh Allen — and pay the freight on the long-term extension they’re looking for. However, with the draft compensation attached to those players, it feels less likely.
Kraft is due to meet the media at the owners meetings next week in Orlando and will likely double down on his cash spending remarks from last month, but at this stage, seeing is believing. They took one swing at Ridley. That was noteworthy. But at this point, it looks like Plan B was just to put the wallet away.
As the roster looks today: What would be your Top 4 positions be on draft day? Obviously quarterback, but with some many holes where would you start? – Miller
I’ll rattle the biggest needs off in order for you:
1. Quarterback
2. Left tackle
3. Wide receiver
4. Tight end
That’s not to say I’d draft them in this order. I think it’d be smart to go with the quarterback at No. 3 and then take a wideout at the top of the second round because it’s a really deep class this year, but all of these needs must be addressed next month.
As of right now, who will be the Patriots LT? — Bob A.
If the season started tomorrow, it’d probably be Chukwuma Okorafor, which is less than ideal if they’re trying to shepherd a young quarterback into the league. Okorafor was playing on the right side in Pittsburgh last year, but lost his starting job to Broderick Jones and was relegated to a swing tackle role. That’s where he’d be the best fit on this Patriots roster, too, so New England still needs to address this.
Any chance at a surprise veteran WR free agent signing like a Michael Thomas type? — @Trayus100305
It’s possible, but not probable.
The Patriots have already brought back Kendrick Bourne, brought in K.J. Osborn, and will likely target a wideout early in the draft. They certainly need a bonafide No. 1 receiver, but none of the wideouts left on the free agent market qualify as one in 2024.
Of Boston’s big four major league teams, do the Patriots give its fans the most agita these days? Or might the Bruins, Celtics and Red Sox do so too? — Ed H.
No, the Red Sox have to lead the region in agita.
They traded Mookie Betts, lowballed Xander Bogaerts, and are still crying poor when it comes time to invest in the big league product — and this is the fifth straight year of it.
If you were making a 64 team bracket of all-time Patriots, who would be the No. 1 seeds? — Ralph V.
So the first three No. 1 seeds are easy: Tom Brady, John Hannah, and Rob Gronkowski. You have arguably the best quarterback, guard, and tight end in NFL history (and strong arguments for each). Boom, done.
From there, the final spot gets tricky.
Defense isn’t represented yet. Do you go with a staple of the early Super Bowl teams, like Hall of Famers Ty Law or Richard Seymour? What about Vince Wilfork or Rodney Harrison? Should you look further back and opt for star from the 70s like Stanley Morgan? The first three are perhaps the best of all-time at their respective positions, so what about Matthew Slater, who Bill Belichick put on a pedestal with Brady and Lawrence Taylor? Adam Vinatieri was pretty darn good at his job, too.
Ultimately, I’m going with… Law. He brought a swagger to the Patriots defense, was one of the best players at a marquee position, and without his pick-six in Super Bowl XXXVI, who knows how things snowball from there.
