Is it unrealistic to expect your team to try to improve its roster every year?
I didn't say that. Of course it is realistic to expect your team to improve. Especially when they just finished with a record so bad that they own the #3 pick in the upcoming draft.
My suggestion is that it is a bit too early to jump to conclusions.
So what do we want the game plan to be? A focus primarily on the short term? That's great if you are already a playoff contender, looking to win it all next year. In that case trade draft picks for proven veterans, even if they are near the end of their career and on the final year of their contract.
That approach is counter productive for teams like the Patriots, and anybody else in the top ten of the draft order. Yes, you still need to field a team, and yes, you need some proven quality so that your new rookie QB doesn't get killed. But trading away draft picks for somebody who will only be on the roster for two seasons doesn't make a lot of sense to me in this situation.
Spending $180 million for 35 year old Kirk Cousins does not make sense for this team.
Spending $92 million for a WR who ranked 25th in receiving yards, and has major off-field issues doesn't make sense either.
With the salary cap increasing more than expected, more teams were able to retain their star players. On top of that the Pats three positions of biggest need - QB, WR, and OT - are also the most highly valued in the NFL. As a result you seldom see top tier players at those positions make it to free agency. And when they do, teams have to overpay for them in comparison to what it costs to retain your own.
Hence Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman and Mike Evans never saw free agency. Gabe Davis - while better than any WR on our roster - thrives only as the #2 WR. Even he and his agent recognized that, which means he was never coming to New England. Mike Williams will turn 30 early in the 2024 season and is coming off an ACL injury. I would have liked to see the Pats make the same trade for Keenan Allen that the Bears did, but at age 32, realistically he is just another temporary band aid. Hollywood Brown would have been a nice addition, but it's tough to compete in a bidding war with the Super Bowl champions and Patrick Mahomes as the QB.
Let's also not forget that the Patriots have re-signed several of their own players. As bad as the 2023 roster was, can you imagine what the 2024 roster would look like right now if Onwenu, Henry, Bourne, Dugger, Uche and Jennings had signed elsewhere? Retaining your own may not be as splashy, but even though it is overlooked it is still a vital part of the free agency process.