Patriots 2023 Offseason Thread

A few quick and scattered thoughts:
-Among free agents, I have no one in the "re-sign at all costs" bucket, J. Jones and Meyers in the "stretch a little to re-sign" bucket, McCourty as a surprise re-sign, and everyone else in the fungible bucket. They actually don't stand to lose too many vital players in free agency.
-Would love a few extensions for guys like Duggar, Bentley and Onwenu. Uche is a 2024 FA as well but, given his lack of track record, it'll be hard to come up with reasonable numbers for him.
-Guys who will likely get cut: Trent Brown, Kendrick Bourne, Jonnu Smith (who somehow would only open up a little cap space if a post-June 1 release).

Team needs(not necessarily in order)

OT - even if Brown is returning, you still likely need 2 investments here (1 draft, 1 FA)
TE - See above
C - The idea of Andrews retiring haunts me. Maybe Russey can develop but . . .
WRs - This room could change a bunch. Meyers and Bourne are addressed above. Agholor is a FA. I like Parker and his # isn't huge. But if they decide to go out and get a true #1 X, does he provide enough value at the other receiver spots? I don't know the answer at all but thought I'd mention it.

LB - Tavai was better than most thought he'd be but I feel like he's still better as a high quality backup then as a primary guy.
CB - Would love to see a bigger guy here to join Marcus and Jack (if he can get back in the good graces) as the core guys. Bryant had a LOT of problems, obviously, but is he still young enough to be "Coached Up". Not for me to say. Not sure when RFA tenders are due but we'll know then what NE thinks, at least.
FS - The gaping hole. While Dugger and Phillips leave the room overall in good shape, I don't think either would be expected to take over for DMac.

STs - A LOT of turnover here. Slater and Davis are FAs, as is Cardona. Folk could retire (though his performance suggests he's still got it) and who knows what's going on at P? At least Schooler, Mitchell and Webb offer some hope in coverage. Oh, and yes, they'll likely need a new ST Coach.

What I'd like to see:

- Totally revamp the offensive coaching staff, bring in someone with a little creativity who can maximize Mac
- New ST coach
- Add someone exciting at wide receiver, trade or top draft pick, I like Jordan Addison
- Get OT help

I bet they’ll be interested in Lazard for his blocking

A big issue on this team is things not matching up the way you like. I said it before the season and feel the same way now, I don't like the Meyers, Parker, Bourne grouping. They are too similar. I hate the Henry and Junno grouping. Even the Jones grouping at CB, they are all good players yet they are all undersized. Our LBers which played better than expected, yet are all basically the same type of old school thumpers like Ted Johnson. They need to do a better job of mixing in the talent so you can play different ways and match up against different teams.

I want to give a shout out to one of the more underrated free agents Daniel Ekuale at DT was darn good rushing the passer. His numbers don't pop, 9 hurries and 2 sacks. I just feel he made a bigger impact than those numbers suggest and helped out other guys by not allowing teams to double up on other guys, while keeping guys fresh. An underrated depth piece.

I certainly agree usually guys like Meyers don't get big money. Yet the NFL is crazy right now and given the cap increase. He's like Jonathan Jones in my book, as good as gone. While I don't see 20 million like some reports, I wouldn't be surprised by something like 5 years 75 million. Good player, not worth the contract he's about to get. Nevermind playing him in the slot is an issue, he's nothing like a typical Patriots slot WR.

Everyone has nailed the biggest needs. So I'm going to mention a huge need that isn't getting talked about, a blocking TE. A huge issue with Henry and Junno is neither is a good inline blocker. That's a huge issue with Mac Jones at QB. A staple during Tom Brady years was great blocking TEs. Helps during pass protection and helps running the ball. I'm also bringing in a fullback at minimum as a camp guy to give our OC options. Mac Jones is great at play action. A huge key to good play action is a great rushing attack. OL is obvious, yet for years blocking TEs and fullbacks were huge for the Patriots.

I'm highly intrigued by Mayer at TE during the draft. I'm not close to up to date on the draft, so maybe he's horrible value at pick 14. Yet he's like Hunter Henry at receiver, yet breaks more tackles and is a great blocker. We have to at least debate a TE labled baby Gronk as a true freshman no?

I want Harris back. Yeah it's not a huge need and you can make a great case that he's one of the easier guys to replace. It's a deep RB group in free agency and he's coming off a down year. Unless another team goes crazy I'm resigning him. I love the two headed attack of Harris and Stevenson. He's your best short yardage back and his wear and tear is low at this point in his career. Plus I'd love to go into the draft with a position set in stone. Stevenson, Harris, Strong and Harris. I also think it's important to Mac Jones. Yet this is certainly more of a luxury than massive need. I just love the guy. Stevenson is great, yet Harris is a bulldozer with some speed and quickness. Play action was good last game, a big part of that was having that two RB tandem. Add in Strong next year and it's one of the best groups in the NFL.

Finally maybe the most important key first piece, McCourty. Huge difference in a ten million dead money hit versus a similar amount for him resigned. I have to believe he's coming back, he's still playing at a very high level. Things get much harder if he does retire.

We have a bunch of picks, draft a kicker and punter! Even if Bailey wins his case and you can't void his salary, I'm still moving on. I love Folk, one of the more underrated kickers in football. He's going to be 39, sucks at kickoffs and his weak leg was an issue during bad weather. Keeping Folk means your next punter has to be good on kickoffs, which makes things harder. 8.6% touchback rate last year on kickoffs, that's so comically bad with the current rules and a huge part of the ST going to crap.

I love the Football season, I love the team building part this time of year just as much! BTW I still 100% trust Bill and will celebrate every year he comes back. When he leaves it will be like losing Brady.

Last thing, highly unlikely yet I'm going to dream on Brady coming back. Just feels right he ends his career as a Patriot. He's seen this year that it's not easy for teams to keep great talent levels year after year.

I hope McCourty retires. He had a great final game and would love to see him go out on a high note. If this team is something like 6-0 to start next year or just looks infinitely better, maybe he can be a mid-season acquisition for one more go.

I'm glad to see that Matty P is very likely to be gone as the play caller. He'll still be with the team, but curious what his role will be. It'll probably be to replace Mayo, which I'm not thrilled about.

Comments about how the Patriots were near the bottom in cash spending has me thinking they're going to splurge again this off-season. Unfortunately, there's no weapons other than JuJu for the Patriots to go out and buy so they'll need to make some trades in that regards. He's a guy whose a really nice piece, but not a true number 1 like this team needs.

They need help in the OL both in terms of talent and coaching.

They need a speedy linebacker.

I would send Joe Judge to work with the special teams and bring back Hoyer to coach Mac Jones (as an actual coach, not someone on the roster).

That's my early thoughts for the off-season.

I don't think this team is a Super Bowl contender with Brady (the cap space you spend on him would trade off with improving the OTs, WRs/TEs, CBs, etc.). If that's the case, I don't know that he's worth pursuing.

While they still have Montgomery and probably hope Strong ticks up, bringing in someone to compete is probably not a bad idea.

21 total snaps are easy to forget

Do we know that Bill doesn't believe that? I think he is pissed at how the season went and how Mac responded. But does that mean he is now out on him?

I'd be stunned if that's the scenario but . . .

Meanwhile, sources saying Arizona will be trading Hopkins (and are telling GM candidates as such during the interview process). Take that for what it's worth.


Unlike many trade situations, NE doesn't HAVE to be the highest bidder bc Hopkins has full no trade. If he wants to come here, then he (and BB) can make it happen.