The 2027 Patriots will look A lot different

[Brady85-23]

Drake Maye will need a contract in 27'
Its gonna be a big one that requires the patriots to make some space.
Im using over the cap on this
And I want to point out im not advocating any of these moves im stating some will have to be made to sign Drake.
Over the cap says the patriots have 27.7 million for cap space in 2027. Before a Gonzo sign.
2027 notable free agents
Onwenu, Henry, K. Byard, M.hollins,
Could all be gone after the 26' season
Other possible moves to create cap space

Carlton Davis could be cut or traded that would give NE 11 million in savings and result in 5.5 mil in dead cap. Possible restructure/extension

Christian Baremore could be traded after June 1st and would save 16.4 million and would have a dead cap charge of 3.6 million
Possible restructure/ extension

H. Landry cut 10.4 savings 4 mil dead cap

Spillane cut 7 savings 3 dead cap

Moses cut 7.6 savings 1.4 dead

Rhamondre Stevenson post June 1 trade
6.4 savings 1.6 dead cap. Possible restructure/extension

Patriots could also rework m. Williams deal put some of his money into a bonus to create cap space

Whatever happens the 2027 offseason will be interesting

 

[Hugepatsfan]

The $27M number they have doesn't include any rollover from this year, where we currently have about $37.1M. We'll use a chunk of that up for in-season moves and (hopefully) an extension for Gonzo, but I'd be surprised if they aren't rolling over at least $10-15M when all said and done.

Moses and Landry look like obvious cap casualties next year. That's another $24.5M.

Those moves alone get them to $60-65M in cap space. Add on to that whatever Gonzo's cap number is off the extension he hopefully signs this year and then the signing bonus amortization charge that will hit for Maye.

My guess is they structure Gonzo's extension with like a "double signing bonus". He'll get a big bonus this year and then another big roster bonus next year that they'll set up as amortized. So I'd expect a relatively low 2027 cap number for him still. And Maye will be set up probably the same, so cap number won't be outrageous for 2027 either.

My guess is that once you factor in the rollover and obvious cuts in Landry/Moses and then offset with Maye/Gonzo extensions, still looking at like $30M in cap space. So plenty of room to sign some players. Some of that will go to retaining/replacing Onwenu/Henry/Byard/Elliss who are the starters on the team set for free agency next year - though they likely draft some replacements too.

Spillane, Barmore and Davis stick out as the main guys who could be released/traded/restructured to open up more room depending on what's needed. So I agree with OP identifying those guys. Stevens to some extent as well, though smaller dollars.

I agree that it will be interesting to see what they do, but not really sure they will look "A LOT" different on account of the cap. But "a lot" is kind of subjective.