Agent: Patriots Were 'Hungry' In Free Agency
Perhaps no one who doesn’t wear pads for a living benefited more from the Patriots’ free agency spending binge this week than super-agent Drew Rosenhaus.
Rosenhaus represents offensive tackle Trent Brown, whom the Pats acquired in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders; and tight end Jonnu Smith, defensive back Jalen Mills and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, who all reportedly agreed to terms with the Patriots during the negotiating window Monday and Tuesday.
All told, those four players, according to Spotrac, will sign contracts worth $100 million.
In an appearance on The Peter King Podcast, Rosenhaus explained why he thinks the Patriots uncharacteristically opened their coffers.
“They had the money out there and they were hungry,” Rosenhaus said. “I mean, I just got the sense that Coach (Bill) Belichick was hungry. I got the feeling that last year didn’t sit very well with them. I got the feeling they weren’t content missing the playoffs and I got the sense that they were going to do a lot to improve their football team. And they were able to do things that other teams weren’t able to do.
“One thing about Belichick, besides being a great coach, he’s also, I think, an outstanding talent evaluator and a great NFL executive. So I think it’s scary to give an outstanding coach like that tons of cap room that most teams don’t have and I think the Patriots are going to be a very dangerous team this year.”
Rosenhaus said that a 7-9 season that kept the Pats out of the playoffs for the first time since 2008 was the prime driver of their aggressive approach to free agency.
“From my standpoint, they took advantage of an edge that they had,” the agent said. “I think we all agree that Belichick is very good at taking advantage of opportunities and he did this year. He knew there were a lot of teams that didn’t have cap room and wouldn’t have the opportunity to go out and add great football players, and he did the exact opposite, he went and did that. He went and improved his football team by leaps and bounds. I think what everybody would agree, this roster is incredibly improved from the one that they ended the season with.”
