Patriots Country

Insider: Patriots Have Rough Reality in Free Agency

An NFL insider has revealed some rather disappointing news for New England Patriots fans.

Matthew Schmidt

Feb 1, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) during AFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 1, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) during AFC Practice for the Pro Bowl Games at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The New England Patriots have an abundance of needs heading into the NFL offseason, but because they have a ton of cap space, they can just plug all of those holes in free agency, right?

Well, it may not be so simple.

Yes, the Patriots have an awful lot of money to spend, but that does not necessarily mean players will be flocking to play for a team that went 4-13 this past season.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network dropped some rather rough news for New England in that regard, stating that he isn't so sure the Pats will be able to convince free agents to sign next month.

"Are the Patriots going to have to overpay in free agency? Probably, that’s just the nature of it," Pelissero said on 98.5 The Sports Hub. “But you’re gonna have a much better selling point than, ‘Hey we’re going to pay you a little extra. And you get to play with this dude (Drake Maye) who, if we can just make this thing competent, has a chance to be really good.'”

Pelissero makes a very good point.

Many of the top free agents want to join teams that have a legitimate chance of winning in the near future, and it doesn't appear that the Patriots present that opportunity right now.

Sure, Maye looked very impressive during his rookie campaign, but he is still largely unproven, and New England has so many other holes that even a major jump from Maye in Year 2 may not vault the Pats into playoff contention.

And let's also remember that sophomore slumps are a thing, so we'll have to see how Maye adjusts now that everyone has extensive film on him going into 2025.

It's nice to imagine the Patriots landing Tee Higgins and a bunch of other top-tier free agents, but there is a chance New England gets mostly shut out once again.

Make sure you bookmark New England Patriots on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

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