Better, younger, cheaper

mike_usagisan · Mar 12, 2026

mgteich said:
For Vrabel, I think there is a lot of difference between a 1-year deal and a 3-year deal.

I think there's something to that.

Triumph · Mar 12, 2026

Thunderhead said:
Patriots might have the weakest group of DEs in the entire NFL currently.

With Diggs gone the WR group is nothing to write home about.

People can talk up Dobbs like he is some difference maker, but its all wishful thinking.

BennyBledsoe · Mar 12, 2026

Belichick just eventually lost 'the touch'. He still was carrying out mostly the same philosophy. His downfall came down to...

1) Getting tired of dealing with coaches and players that weren't 100 percent in lockstep with him. Not even beneficial challenges were acceptable anymore. IE: the coaching staff of yes-men that he really screwed up on. Patricia maybe could have eventually become an OC after a long mentorship on the offensive side. But to start him off as OC? Good grief.

2) He just lost the touch. Gamble quality went from Mankins to Strange, from Gronk to Thornton. He just couldn't find talent the way he used to.

Vrabel's still got the drive and he has a team working with him on personnel. We're still in a good place with him.

Real fan 02 · Mar 12, 2026

Toofy said:
I think we showed up the depth well. The edge , Te and linebacker corps are still weak but we need to give it time .

Considering we had 11 rookies playing around 21 games last year that's huge considering that typical rookies are redshirted and play sparingly in second year. Whereas we got 11 starters with 21 games of experience on rookie contracts .

Now this year the rookies will be more for depth as opposed to starters. The only starter is possibly edge guyz.

So let's draft BPA and allow them time for development. Who knows by the time post season starts the depth of rookies starts to shine.

Now go get the RT ,DE1,TE1 ,LB1 and CB2 of the future through draft . A good high ceiling guard would also be nice.

Real fan 02 · Mar 12, 2026

Triumph said:
With Diggs gone the WR group is nothing to write home about.

People can talk up Dobbs like he is some difference maker, but its all wishful thinking.

See you soon Triumph

SlowGettingUp · Mar 12, 2026

Nice video analysis of Doubs and Vera-Tucker:

Film Review: Breaking Down Reported Additions Romeo Doubs and Alijah Vera-Tucker's Fit in the Patriots Offense

Stu Pidassle · Mar 12, 2026

Sor far, so good this offseason. FA is about getting better by filling specific holes with veteran players it is not about getting cheaper or younger. Indirectly it helps with cheaper and younger by allowing the team to draft the BPA that has a better chance to contribute than being forced to draft for a specific position.

Pape · Mar 12, 2026

younger, yes
cheaper, for sure
better? remains to be seen

overall it has been a very workman like round of free agency... nothing has happened that really makes one say "wow, great signing" ... unfortunately, imo, we are just replacing guys we let walk... there is no addition its only replacement... Last year there were real positive additions to this team... this year? not so much...

underwhelming free agency this year... hope we do better in the draft...

mgteich · Mar 12, 2026

Pape said:
.

. "wow, great signing".

Byard is an all-pro starter who we got for $9M.

patfanken · Mar 12, 2026

RobertWeathers said:
IMO the FO and Vrabes are doing a great job.

The only one that doesn't sit well with me is AVT as he is injury-prone but since it's only a $7.2m singing bonus and the contract has $4.25m tied to availability, the NEP did VERY well to protect themselves.

That's $4.2MM EACH year that's tied to availability. The Pats did VERY well in protecting themselves against potential injury. In the end they get a kid who is among the best in the league WHEN he is on field and a huge upgrade over a rookie playing a relatively new position.

That doesn't mean this will end up being a great signing, BUT it could be.

RobertWeathers · Mar 12, 2026

patfanken said:
That's $4.2MM EACH year that's tied to availability. The Pats did VERY well in protecting themselves against potential injury. In the end they get a kid who is among the best in the league WHEN he is on field and a huge upgrade over a rookie playing a relatively new position.

That doesn't mean this will end up being a great signing, BUT it could be.

Yep. I'm always ok taking a flier on a high-risk/high-upside player as long as the cap hit is limited.

patfanken · Mar 12, 2026

Triumph said:
With Diggs gone the WR group is nothing to write home about.

People can talk up Dobbs like he is some difference maker, but its all wishful thinking.

Sorry, but I'll have to take Steve Smith's assessment of Dobbs over your pithy observations

PancakeBlockPaul · Mar 12, 2026

At this time I can't say we are any worse but have to wait for the fall to roll around to be sure....hopefully it won't be a very slow start to this year.

Pape · Mar 12, 2026

mgteich said:
Byard is an all-pro starter who we got for $9M.

so signing a 33 years old safety to a one year deal made you go "wow"? interesting...

bringing in Cobe Bryant for a few dollars more would have made me stand up and say "wow, nice move" ... ymmv on that one...

mgteich · Mar 12, 2026

I have all of these as improvements

WR Doubs over Diggs
TE Hill over Hooper
FB Gilliam over Westover
OL AVT over Bradbury
EDGE Jones over Chaisson
LB Britt over Gibbens
S Byard over Hawkins
S Brown over Pettus
=============
We still need a veteran backup LT to replace Lowe.
We still need a backup DT to replace Tonga.
We still need another EDGE rusher (even if Landry is healthy)
We still need another ILB to replace Tavai.
We still to draft for the future at RT, RG, TE and S.
And sure, we could replace Douglas with a top WR.

Water Boy · Mar 12, 2026

Pape said:
so signing a 33 years old safety to a one year deal made you go "wow"? interesting...

bringing in Cobe Bryant for a few dollars more would have made me stand up and say "wow, nice move" ... ymmv on that one...

Byard is an excellent bridge player. Its a deep safety class with potential to draft a quality player that can be given time to develop and start in 27.

Zuma · Mar 12, 2026

mgteich said:
WR Doubs over Diggs

Possibly in 2026

mgteich said:
TE Hill over Hooper

Possibly in 2026

mgteich said:
FB Gilliam over Westover

Yes

mgteich said:
OL AVT over Bradbury

Yes

mgteich said:
EDGE Jones over Chaisson

Maybe

mgteich said:
LB Britt over Gibbens

No

mgteich said:
S Byard over Hawkins

Yes

mgteich said:
S Brown over Pettus

Probably

mgteich said:
=============
We still need a veteran backup LT to replace Lowe.

Yes

mgteich said:
We still need a backup DT to replace Tonga.

Yes

mgteich said:
We still need another EDGE rusher (even if Landry is healthy)

Yes

mgteich said:
We still need another ILB to replace Tavai.

Yes

mgteich said:
We still to draft for the future at RT, RG, TE and S.

Yes

mgteich said:
And sure, we could replace Douglas with a top WR.

Maybe

mgteich · Mar 12, 2026

Zuma said:
Possibly in 2026

Possibly in 2026

Yes

Yes

Maybe

No

Yes

Probably

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Maybe

Perhaps we should sign Gibbens. The contract would be for less than the RFA $3.5M.

Zuma · Mar 12, 2026

mgteich said:
Perhaps we should sign Gibbens. The contract would be for less than the RFA $3.5M.

That's interesting that it works that way. I think he's better then Britt but it seems Vrabel thinks differently. Or like you said...sign Gibbens as well.

EDIT: FWIW Britt has a faster 40 and Gibbens has a quicker 3-cone.

TommyD4207 · Mar 12, 2026

Pape said:
younger, yes
cheaper, for sure
better? remains to be seen

overall it has been a very workman like round of free agency... nothing has happened that really makes one say "wow, great signing" ... unfortunately, imo, we are just replacing guys we let walk... there is no addition its only replacement... Last year there were real positive additions to this team... this year? not so much...

underwhelming free agency this year... hope we do better in the draft...

I've said that 5 times so far.

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