So Far, Wolf Has Gotten the Patriots Off to a Solid Start This Offseason
(PHOTO: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 5 minutes
Posted Under: Patriots Commentary
(PHOTO: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 5 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports) We’re two days into Patriots free agency, and as expected, people in New England are frustrated.
They’ve added just five players, brought back 11, and either actively or reluctantly let seven guys walk. But there’s one factor that should be mentioned.
They’ve yet to take a step backward, which is a huge step in the right direction coming off of last year’s 4-13 season.
New defacto GM Eliot Wolf has certainly been busy. He’s spent the first couple of days trying to sift through the rubble and clean up the mess, and he’s made relatively good progress.
With a trash bin sitting on one side of the room, he’s discarded a couple of the pieces behind their woes last season. Mac Jones was shipped off to the Jaguars in a trade for a sixth-round pick, with the club looking for a fresh start at quarterback. New England also informed DeVante Parker they weren’t requiring his services moving forward, with additional rumors that JuJu Smith-Schuster may also be up next among those not a part of the club’s future plans.
From there, he’s picked up and put back on the table some important pieces. The club re-signed offensive lineman Mike Onwenu, along with wideout Kendrick Bourne, and tight end Hunter Henry. They also re-signed linebackers Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings on defense. They placed the transition tag on safety Kyle Dugger, hopefully buying some time to extend him for the long-term.
You wouldn’t necessarily consider any of these guys “stars” in any sense, but there’s no question that the Patriots would have been worse off looking for replacements than keeping them in place to surround them with talent.
Meanwhile, the club finally added a veteran quarterback, bringing back former 3rd round pick Jacoby Brissett on a one-year deal. Some aren’t happy about the signing, yet for some strange reason those same people have seem to forgotten what the plan of this offseason was.
The plan was to find a serviceable short-term starter who can anchor a quarterback room that was a mess last season. In Brissett, they found a player who can help develop what is expected to be a future rookie quarterback, while potentially bringing along recently retained CFL standout, Nathan Rourke. He also takes over for last year’s late-season starter, Bailey Zappe, who will likely be battling Rourke for the third quarterback spot in training camp.
However, the signing of Brissett hasn’t sat well in some areas. That, in and of itself, is a little puzzling.
Anyone hoping they would alter their draft plans and shoot for a big-name QB has to remember what they were up against. They essentially had no shot, given that up until two days ago, they didn’t have a tight end on the roster and their receiving corps wasn’t even at the level of other NFL teams.
You can have all the money in the world, but players, especially quarterbacks, also look at their potential situations. The reason being, if they fail, it radically alters their future prospects and it’s probably safe to say that heading into free agency, the Patriots were absolutely not an attractive landing spot.
It’s been said here before, but it’s the chicken/egg theory. You can’t attract a quarterback without weapons, and you also can’t attract those same weapons without a viable guy to throw them the football.
While money plays a role, guys also want to go where they can put up big numbers and set themselves up for their next contract. They also want a shot at postseason incentives. New England is probably – at the very least – a year away from being able to do that. And that’s through a relatively optimistic lens.
Quarterbacks view it the same way. As it was, the Patriots kicked the tires on guys like Baker Mayfield, who essentially decided that he’d only even consider New England if his first choices fell through.
The Buccaneers quieted that talk by bringing Mayfield back on a three-year deal worth up to a reported $115 million, taking that option off the table.
Also out is Kirk Cousins, who despite being in a terrific position in Minnesota, opted to move on to Atlanta. That reportedly has wide receiver Justin Jefferson pondering his own future, especially after the club recently agreed to terms with Sam Darnold.
Unlike the Vikings, the Patriots at least sit with the #3 overall pick with a shot at taking a stab at one of the top signal-callers next month. For Minnesota, barring a move up the board, they have to hope someone falls down enough to end up within their grasp.
The only bright spot then would be if New England ends up in play to trade for Jefferson, should he stomp his feet and demand to be moved.
Overall, it’s been a slow start when it comes to signings. They signed former Steeler offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, adding some depth in a position where they’re brutally thin. They also signed running back Antonio Gibson, who may hopefully fill a void that could soon be left by Ezekiel Elliott should he sign elsewhere. The same can be said for tight end Austin Hooper, who will likely be a replacement for Mike Gesicki, who signed in Cincinnati. The club also signed linebacker Sione Takitaki, who will hopefully pick up some of the slack after the club was unable to reach an agreement with Mack Wilson, who signed in Arizona.
Again, not big names, but necessary pieces.
For now, we’ll have to wait and see how things play out. The Patriots have reportedly been in heavy contention with the Jaguars for Calvin Ridley, with the only question now being whether or not Ridley is going to want to leave Jacksonville or take his talents to Foxboro. Adding him would certainly be an upgrade at a position in dire need of a boost, but if not, it’s likely New England won’t give up and will simply pick up its checkbook and shop elsewhere.
So far, Wolf has shown all the signs that he’ll continue being aggressive. But he’s also shown he’s not going to be irresponsible. That part has likely required some restraint, especially since he’s faced with a daunting task when it comes to selling players on why they should come here.
In the meantime, he’s cleaned things up where the mess hasn’t gotten any bigger and things are now at the point where the path forward feels a little more positive.
This is a marathon, not a sprint. For those wishing the initial splash would have been larger, considering how things could have gone, they’ve at least accomplished enough where whoever they do end up with in the days to come will continue to be steps forward.
More importantly, while the names haven’t been ideal, they’re still moving with a sense of urgency, and they’re getting after it early in the process. With the important foundational pieces kept in place, that’s also why this team is certainly less of a disaster than how it looked just a few weeks ago.
Fortunately for Wolf, it’s also why each addition will be one step closer to a path toward getting back into contention. That’s something that didn’t feel possible a couple of months ago, and depending on how these next few weeks go, along with who they end up with next month in the draft, their outlook is already a lot brighter heading into 2024.
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