So long, Ronnie Stanley.
Take care, Tee Higgins.
Fare thee well, Trey Smith, Davante Adams and Zack Baun.
The NFL is on the precipice of a drama-free free agency thanks to a flurry of last-minute contract extensions and a couple buzzkill franchise tags. The best free agents, like Stanley, Higgins and others, are off the market because of their current employers; all at the expense of anyone who hoped to see stars shoot across the league starting Monday in one of football’s most-anticipated weeks of the year.
And, of course, the Patriots and their league-leading $125.1 million in cap space.
A year ago, the Pats began preserving cap room for the purpose of rolling it over to this offseason, when they expected to enter Phase 2 of their rebuild and put high-prized pieces around the young quarterback they would draft come April. That quarterback is here now, and, like the rest of us, still waiting for a No. 1 receiver.
And a No. 2 receiver. And a bona fide left tackle. And a starting-caliber left guard. And a halfway decent right tackle. And a defense that can get him the ball back with a punt instead of a kickoff.
Some cautioned, like yours truly back in September, elite players at those positions no longer reach free agency. Others, such as Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, said, well, we’ll see.
Well, we’re here now.
What we see is a market headlined by a top-flight No. 2 receiver, above-average O-linemen, a handful of No. 2 cornerbacks and defensive linemen who should finish their careers with a couple Pro Bowl nods, no more.
To that, and to the Patriots, I say too bad. Spend anyway.
The Patriots are not good enough, not deep enough, not functional enough to compete next season without a major talent infusion beyond Sunday’s addition of ex-Titans edge rusher Harold Landry. So far this decade, all this franchise has done is fall fast and hard back to the rest of the pack, and now firmly behind the rest of the league. Catching up will take time, yes, but more than that money.
Now that the Patriots’ penny-pinching secrets have been laid bare for several years, it’s time to fix what’s broken, from the roster on up.
So if Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin, the aforementioned top-flight No. 2 who just turned 29, wants $25 million annually tomorrow, give it to him.
If Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams, arguably the best player on the field during the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl, commands $22 million per year, so be it.
Multiple front-office executives told me last week Williams ought to be in that neighborhood anyway, despite coming off a career-high five sacks last season. If that sounds expensive, remember it’s young players like Williams — a 25-year-old entering his prime with rare physical gifts and terrific underlying metrics (he ranked sixth among defensive tackles by ESPN’s pass-rush win rate), that free agency is for; that cap space is for; that the money is for.
Of course there’s risk. But conducting bad business — or worse yet, the fear of conducting bad business — cannot keep the Patriots from guaranteed improvement at a few positions. So what if they pay Williams like a top-10 defensive tackle and he falls just short? Or Charvarius Ward doesn’t live up to a top-10 cornerback contract, but comes close?
That’s what a fungible salary cap is for. What trades and restructures are for. What a cost-controlled rookie contract is for; margin of error that allows for inevitable roster-building mistakes on the road back to contention.
It was only four years ago the Patriots made Jonnu Smith the third-highest paid tight end in the NFL before he’d failed to crack 450 receiving yards in a single season. That $50 million disaster didn’t keep them out of the playoffs that year, nor prevent them from making a postseason push the next. Their offensive line did, but only after the front office failed to seriously invest in protecting and supporting a young Mac Jones.
Learn from that lesson.
Inside the Patriots’ free agency and draft plans at the NFL Scouting Combine
Young left tackle Dan Moore Jr. might be every Steeler fan’s favorite punching bag, but even a punching bag blocks better on third down than Vederian Lowe. So does veteran free-agent Cam Robinson.
Yes, Moore and Robinson will be overpaid. Too bad. Sign one, and draft his eventual replacement next month.
This isn't arguing to spend for spending's sake. It’s to patch roster holes that will prevent Drake Maye from elevating the rest of the roster unless they are filled, and highlight the surplus of middle-class free agents who collectively could make a competitive difference as soon as this season.
Do you think the Commanders pulled off a surprise run to the NFC title game on Jayden Daniels' right arm alone? No.
It was a free-agent crop of mid-level veterans that paved the way; linebackers Bobby Wagner, a Pro Bowler, and Frankie Luvu, a rising star; Zach Ertz and his career renaissance at tight end; edge rushers Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler Jr.; new starting offensive linemen in Tyler Biadasz and Nick Allegretti.
For the Patriots, those players could very well be Moore, Ward, Giants receiver Darius Slayton, Ravens offensive lineman Patrick Mekari and others. Go get them.
At the scouting combine, Mike Vrabel told the world the Patriots expected be aggressive come free agency. So, live up to your word. Execute your plan. There is nothing holding them back.
And if the Patriots fail, there should be no one else to blame.