My Ridiculously Early Start on a 2026 Offseason Plan

[manxman2601]

Assuming this is true, it makes some sense: Pierce is a 25yo big play WR with 4.4 speed. A nucleus of Pierce, Williams and Boutte would be the most dynamic WR group the Pats have had since 2007, and give a solid nucleus as Drake Maye moves into his prime.

If the Pats could re-sign K'Lavon Chaisson, add another EDGE, and sign a LG like AVT, they would be free to focus on RT and EDGE in the draft.

Do you think they'll add three pass rushers? I was thinking it's more likely to be two. One to take Chaisson's spot (that may be Chaisson himself) and then one that replaces either Swinson or Jennings. I might be wrong of course.

 

[mayoclinic]

I hope they sign 2 pass rushers (one of whom could be Chaisson, if the price is right), and add one in the draft.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

* They had almost identical stats in 2025 although Brown had 3 more TDs. I also think an X WR1 has more value than a slot.

And Philly averaged 55 less passing yards a game than us, 955 yds less on the year.
AJ would have more yards just based on the offense we and Philly ran last year.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Assuming this is true, it makes some sense: Pierce is a 25yo big play WR with 4.4 speed. A nucleus of Pierce, Williams and Boutte would be the most dynamic WR group the Pats have had since 2007, and give a solid nucleus as Drake Maye moves into his prime.

If the Pats could re-sign K'Lavon Chaisson, add another EDGE, and sign a LG like AVT, they would be free to focus on RT and EDGE in the draft.

Great post, Mayo.

 

[mayoclinic]

As Patriots prep for free agency, predictions at the team’s biggest positions of need

New England is likely to sign at least one player each at wide receiver, edge rusher, tight end and guard/center. Here are our guesses.

www.nytimes.com

Substitute Odafe Oweh for Mafe (that seems way too high for Mafe), re-sign Chaisson and Hawkins, and sign AVT and maybe Jedrick Wills as OT3, and a depth TE, and the Pats are reary for the draft:

QB: Drake Maye
RB: TreVeyon Henderson/Rhamondre Stevenson
WR: Alec Pierce, Keyshon Boutte, Kyle Williams
TE: Hunter Henry
OL: Will Campbell, AVT, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu, Morgan Moses

DL: Milton Williams, Christian Barmore
EDGE: Odafe Oweh, K'Lavon Chaisson
LB: Robert Spillane, Christian Ellis
S: Craig Woodson, Jaylin Hawkins
CB: Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones

I'd be pretty happy going into the draft without that.

 

[Clonamery]

As Patriots prep for free agency, predictions at the team’s biggest positions of need

New England is likely to sign at least one player each at wide receiver, edge rusher, tight end and guard/center. Here are our guesses.

www.nytimes.com

Substitute Odafe Oweh for Mafe (that seems way too high for Mafe), re-sign Chaisson and Hawkins, and sign AVT and maybe Jedrick Wills as OT3, and a depth TE, and the Pats are reary for the draft:

QB: Drake Maye
RB: TreVeyon Henderson/Rhamondre Stevenson
WR: Alec Pierce, Keyshon Boutte, Kyle Williams
TE: Hunter Henry
OL: Will Campbell, AVT, Jared Wilson, Mike Onwenu, Morgan Moses

DL: Milton Williams, Christian Barmore
EDGE: Odafe Oweh, K'Lavon Chaisson
LB: Robert Spillane, Christian Ellis
S: Craig Woodson, Jaylin Hawkins
CB: Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones

I'd be pretty happy going into the draft without that.

$ would be close/over. See which restructures come before or after the Draft. No napping for the Wolf.

 

[mayoclinic]

Agreed.

There are lots of ways to make cap room. Restructured. Cutting Garrett Bradbury or Christian Ellis each saves around $5M. Cutting Mike Onwenu saves $17.5M. The Pats currenrlt have almost $60M, and could probably make another $40M. There will be some hard choices, but if the Pats have the opportunity to get younger and better they can do so.

The Alec Pierce situation is an opportunity to add a young #1 WR in his prime, at slightly below market rates for a top WR, and who does not come with off field baggage, injury hx, or a large trade cost. I don't think the Pats expected him to hit the market, sounds like they will be aggressive.

There will be other opportunities.

 

[mayoclinic]

#PostPulpit Mailbag: Should the Patriots be all-in on Alec Pierce?

The latest edition of our Patriots mailbag answers questions about free agency, the draft, and more.

www.patspulpit.com

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Way too early, but some thoughts:

Cut or Trade:

- S Kyle Duggar
- EDGE Anfernee Jennings
- LB Christian Elliss

Cut or Extend:

- RG Mike Onwenu. Cutting him would save $17.5M. A 1 year extension with a reduction and significant cap savings might be an alternative, and would allow the IOL to be reasonably stable for 2026.

Extend:

The Pats could have as much as $90M in available cap space, depending on cuts. They should give priority to:

- CB Christian Gonzalez. Signed through 2026 with an option year, but he is the franchise on D.
- CB Marcus Jones. Sign the beast asap.
- TE Hunter Henry. Signed through 2026, but should be good for another 1-2 years.
- TE Austin Hooper. Not critical, but a solid #2 TE.
- WR Kayshon Boutte. Signed through 2026.
- DT Khiyris Tonga. Has been a revelation. Sign asap.
- EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson. Not critical, but has been solid.

Gonzalez is really the only really big money extension.

Possible FA additions:

- RB: Breece Hall or Kenneth Walker would complement TreVeyon Henderson nicely.
- EDGE: Haason Reddick, Kwity Paye, Jaelon Phillips and Boye Mafe possibilities. Kayvon Thibodeaux a trade possibility.

Neither if these would break the bank.

Draft:

BPA in general, but some possible targets at areas of need:

- LB: Arvell Reese 1st round or Jake Golday/Anthony Hill 2nd round would add a versatile LB opposite Spillane, who could also be used on the EDGE
- Alpha X WR:Chris Bell, Chris Brazzell, CJ Cummings, JaKobi Lane or Ian Strong day 2
- OL: Spencer Fano/Francis Mauigoa day 1, Isaiah World/Fa'alili Fa'amoe/Caleb Lomu/Cayden Green day 2
- S: Dillon Thieneman/Zakee Wheatley day 2, Amare Ferrell/Rod Moore day 3
- CB: Keith Abney/Chris Johnson day 2, Tacario Davis/Hezekiah Masses day 3, Jyaire Hill late day 3. D'Angelo Ponds or Jontez Williams possible day 3 slot CBs.
- Possible developmental IOL and TE
- Possible opportunity picks at DT, developmental QB, RB

That would leave a roster along the line of:

Offense (25):

QB (3): Drake Maye, Joshua Dobbs, Tommy DeVito
RB (4): TreVeyon Henderson, Breece Hall/Kenneth Walker, Rhamondre Stevenson; PUP: Antonio Gibson, Lan Larison
WR (6): Rookie X, Stephon Diggs, Kyle Williams, Kayshon Boutte, Mac Hollins, Efton Chism/Pop Douglas
TE (3): Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, +1
OT (4): Will Campbell, Morgan Moses, Marcus Bryant, rookie RT
IOL (5): Jared Wilson, Garrett Bradbury, Ben Brown; either Mike Onwenu or rookie RG; +1

Defense (24):

DL (5): Milton Williams, Christian Barmore, Khiris Tonga, Josh Farmer, +1
EDGE (5): Harold Landry, FA, K'Lavon Chaisson, Bradyn Swinson, Elijah Ponder
LB (4): Arvell Reese/Jake Golday, Robert Spillane, Jack Gibbens, Marte Mapu
CB (6): Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, rookie, + 2
S (4): Rookie, Craig Woodson, Dell Pettus, +1

Special Teams (4):

K: Andy Borregales
P: Bryce Baringer
LS: Julian Ashby
Specialist: Brendan Schooler

A name that hasn’t been getting a lot of buzz is Clowney.
He’s old, but he could be an effective stop gap on a one year deal.
He’s still playing at a good level and may be chasing a ring.

 

[mayoclinic]

Some 2026 cap savings, per OvertheCap:

Mike Onwenu - $17.5M
Hunter Henry - $9.25M
Garrett Bradbury - $5.7M
Christian Ellis - $5M
Mack Hollins - $4M
Anfernee Jenni gs - $3.8M
Josh Dobbs - $3.7M
Pop Douglas - $3.675
Jahlani Tavai - $1.75M
Marte Mapu - $1.5M

Those 10 contracts would save another $56M in 2026 cap space.

I'm not saying those players should be cut, but if the opportunities arise, the Pats can go after anyone they want.

Remember, the 1st year cap hit on Milt Williams' contract was only $14M.

Who would you go after, if they become available, and who would you cut:

- Alec Pierce
- Tyler Linderbaum
- AVT
- Odafe Oweh
- Rashan Gary (possible cap casualty)
- Boye Mafe
- Quay Walker
- TJ Hockenson (possible cap casualty)
- Other
- RLKAG

 

[manxman2601]

Pierce and Oweh for me. I don’t think Linderbaum is happening and while I’d like AVT, the injury thing scares me. I still want us to build through the draft mainly though.

Diana Russini says we’ve offered a 1st and a 3rd for Brown. I wonder how strongly we feel about Pierce in that context.

 

[mayoclinic]

Report: Colts' Alec Pierce linked to Super Bowl team in free agency

Indianapolis Colts star wide receiver Alec Pierce might leave his current team to join a Super Bowl contender on a big-money deal.

www.newsweek.com

Who would you rather have as an X WR:

- Alec Pierce. 25yo. 6'3" 211#. 4.33 speed. 2900 yards/17 TDs in 4 seasons.

- Brian Thomas, Jr. 23yo. 6'3" 209#. 4.33 speed. 1900 yards/12 TDs in 2 seasons. Would cost at least a 2nd round draft pick.

- AJ Brown. 28yo. 6'1" 226#. 4.49 speed. 800 yards/56 TDs in 7 seasons. Would cost at least a 1st round draft pick.

 

[mayoclinic]

Pierce and Oweh for me. I don’t think Linderbaum is happening and while I’d like AVT, the injury thing scares me. I still want us to build through the draft mainly though.

I go Pierce, Oweh, and AVT. AVT should not break the bank, and is a 5 position OL. Worst case we go LG in 2027.

If TJ Hockenson gets cut, I would make a run and cut Hunter Henry. Hockenson is 3 years younger, and a much better blocker.

Diana Russini says we’ve offered a 1st and a 3rd for Brown. I wonder how strongly we feel about Pierce in that context.

See above post.

Pierce at 25 >>> Brown at 28, minus a 1st and a 3rd.

 

[manxman2601]

Pierce at 25 >>> Brown at 28, minus a 1st and a 3rd.

I agree but I do wonder how Vrabel thinks about Pierce if he's preferring the latter. Maybe he thinks Brown is a WR 1 to Pierce's WR 2. Close to 30m for a WR 2 is a lot.

 

[mayoclinic]

I agree but I do wonder how Vrabel thinks about Pierce if he's preferring the latter. Maybe he thinks Brown is a WR 1 to Pierce's WR 2. Close to 30m for a WR 2 is a lot.

Redirect Notice

I agree it's a lot for a #2, would have to view Pierce as a #1 WR. I think his comps are BTJ and Jameson Williams.

 

[manxman2601]

Don’t bother mocking a QB.

 

[mayoclinic]

That sounds like backup money, not #3 QB.

 

[stelfans]

yup, that seems like a lot of money tied into 2 backup qb's
if anything, i would say a late draft qb is likely to be added but we shall see if and when dobbs is cut

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

That sounds like backup money, not #3 QB.

That’s what I was thinking, making Dobbs expendable.
I would still be mocking a very late rd developmental QB.

 

[mayoclinic]

Rashan Gary Announces He's Parting Ways With Packers

Packers DE Rashan Gary initially announced on Instagram that he is parting ways with Green Bay, but he has since deleted the post. Gary was the subject of trade rumors, but it looks like he's

nfltraderumors.co