The Patriots head into their second-straight offseason hoping to try and ‘weaponize’ their offense, something Eliot Wolf mentioned ahead of their last attempt to inject talent on that side of the ball just one year ago.
With a significant amount of cap space available ahead of this offseason, the hope is that Wolf might be able to attract free agents with Mike Vrabel now running things, along with the fact they have a talented quarterback.
The latter was definitely a key element they were lacking last spring, and Drake Maye’s arrival and development should be something potential free agents view as a big opportunity. They’ll have a shot with someone who has shown the ability to make explosive plays and, with some additional help on offense, might even allow this team to surprise some people.
From there, if players balk again at coming here in free agency, the next option might be to make a trade to bring a player into Foxboro. They’ve done that in the past with players like Wes Welker and Randy Moss obviously among the more notable names.
But back then, they had Bill Belichick and Tom Brady and were an attractive spot for players looking at a shot at winning titles. While the outlook has certainly improved dramatically now that Maye has a full season under his belt, along with some of the recent coaching changes, that doesn’t mean that players are ready to uproot themselves and come to Foxboto.
Massachusetts native Katie Nolan spoke with Seattle’s DK Metcalf in a recent Casuals with Katie Nolan podcast, clearly trying to sell the idea of donning a uniform for the home team. Nolan did her best, telling the receiver she felt he would really like living in Massachusetts while trying to gauge his interest.
However, it didn’t sound like she got the answer she was hoping for. Metcalf instead sounds like a player with no desire to com to Foxboro, which means seeing him paired with Maye next season definitely feels like a longshot.
“Massachusetts is a really lovely place,” said Nolan. “Living in Massachusetts is awesome, and I just wanted you to know that. It would be cool for you at some point in your life if you wanted to, if that’s how the stars aligned, I think you would really like living in Massachusetts. Do you agree, you think?”
Metcalf answered flatly, “No.”
“What?” replied Nolan. “You couldn’t see yourself ever living in Massachusetts?”
“Look at how long it’s taking you to say the word,” said Metcalf. “No. It’s not a desirable place, in my opinion.”
“Oh man, are you sure?” replied Nolan.
“Great organization,” added Metcalf. “Great organization.”
You have to give her credit for trying.
He had his way with the Patriots this past season during New England’s week 2 loss against the Seahawks at Gillette Stadium. Metcalf caught 10 passes for 129 yards along with a touchdown in New England’s 23-10 overtime loss, which kicked off the first of what turned out to be a six-game skid for the Patriots.
Metcalf is currently in the final deal of his contract, which likely makes him a player teams will possibly try and kick the tires on as a possible trade target this offseason.
Should the Patriots be one of those teams, it sounds like they will have to do have to do something significant to change his perception given that he clearly didn’t sound interested in this being a potential landing spot.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
It would be interesting to hear what Metcalf’s perceptions and issue is….sounds like it’s NOT the Patriots organization but MA/North east. Heck he’s been in SEA where it rains the majority of the year. So is it NE or “taxachuesetts”. Ultimately often dollars talk in FA. Occasionally people have roots in parts of the country where that is where they want to be. So be it. That’s why they call it “free agency”.