The New England Patriots have over $100 million to spend in free agency and they're hoping it goes better than the last time they had record-setting amounts of money to spend. Where will they spend their money? Are there any players worth breaking the bank for? What's the dream move for the Patriots?
Alec and Rich cover it all.
Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!
Alec and Rich cover it all.
Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!
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00:00 All right, hello everybody and welcome to Patriots First and Goal Free Agent Frenzy
00:04 2024.
00:05 I can't believe how quickly this offseason has gone by.
00:09 The combine's already over, the dog and pony show where a bunch of college kids run, jump,
00:14 lift and they don't swim, but they probably should.
00:17 The wild time NFL combine, but we are right on the cusp of what I think Ridge Hill is
00:23 going to be one of the more interesting free agency periods in NFL history.
00:27 But before we get into all of that, first and foremost, how's your offseating treatment
00:31 so far?
00:32 It's good.
00:33 It's good.
00:34 I mean, for those of you who have listened to this podcast for the past decade or so,
00:38 y'all know my favorite part of the season is the offseason in a way that I just truly
00:44 love the team building aspect.
00:45 There's so much hope and promise.
00:48 And it's one of those timeframes where you can let your imagination run wild.
00:52 So I'm just very excited that the Patriots are sitting well with a ton of cap space.
00:58 They should be, it'll be very revealing on how the front office chooses to spend it because
01:03 I think it'll really reveal how the team will approach the rest of the season.
01:08 And I mean that because I feel like the last few seasons under Bill Belichick, not only
01:13 were some of the free agents, they didn't pan out, but I think it really revealed a
01:17 lot of outdated thinking.
01:18 And so I'm very curious to see how this new front office, how this new administration
01:23 approaches roster management, because will it be a breath of fresh air or will it be
01:29 more of the same?
01:30 That remains to be seen.
01:31 But for me, this is the first time that we'll get to have like a brand new look at the team.
01:35 Finally.
01:36 Yeah, it's funny, man.
01:37 And I feel like we've been talking about the Patriots draft pick since like late September
01:42 with how they've been performing.
01:44 And we're all excited about the third overall pick.
01:46 Who are they going to take?
01:47 Nick May, Marvin Harris, and who's going to be available, blah, blah, blah.
01:50 But we're forgetting that free agency is a huge part of team building and how they approach
01:54 the draft will likely be dictated on how they approach free agency.
01:58 So the next couple of days, a couple of weeks can be really, really exciting.
02:01 So let's jump into it, Rich Hill.
02:02 You touched on it a bit for our first goal.
02:04 First down, how the hell do you see Gerard Mayo approaching free agency?
02:09 This is Bill Belichick.
02:10 We know the answer.
02:11 They do nothing for the first couple of days.
02:12 Let the market set itself, sign some value guys for team friendly contracts that fit
02:17 areas of need.
02:18 They very rarely went out and got that marquee darling of the free agency class once in a
02:23 while they did, but rarely.
02:25 It was usually a very boring time for Patriots fans.
02:28 What are your expectations this year?
02:29 Are they going to go big?
02:30 Are they going to kind of wait for a while at the market set itself?
02:33 Yeah, I mean, my favorite thing was Mayo having to walk back.
02:37 They're like, we're going to spend bags of money.
02:39 And then, you know, two press conferences later, he was like, no, no, no, I didn't know.
02:43 Not like that.
02:44 Not like that.
02:45 And so who knows?
02:46 I mean, they have like over 100 million in cap space.
02:48 They have to do better than what they did a few years back, right?
02:52 When they spent all of that money, like, yes, Judon was great, but pretty much everyone
02:56 else was either mediocre or terrible.
02:59 So I feel like they have to do better this time around.
03:01 It sounds like from what Elliot Wolfe has talked about in the front office, I wouldn't
03:06 be surprised if the Patriots approach this by trying to take care of their own.
03:10 He expressed that being the Packers way.
03:12 I think that they'll want to make sure that, you know, the homegrown talent, Kyle Duggar,
03:16 Michael Nwenu, can they find a way to keep them in the fold?
03:19 They transition tag Kyle Duggar.
03:21 I wouldn't be surprised if they let Nwenu test the free agent market to see what the
03:25 value is on the open market to see if they can match it, if it makes sense.
03:30 And I wouldn't be surprised if we also saw kind of a glut of extensions across third
03:35 players that they really want to retain, you know, thinking of the Jonathan Jones and Jabril
03:38 Peppers, also like the Dietrich Weiss, like team captains, you know, David Andrews, the
03:43 players that you want to have around from a culture perspective.
03:46 So I think that they'll try to do a lot of housekeeping on their own front.
03:50 But then I think what I would like to see them do is bring in some, you know, mid level
03:56 free agents that can compete, because I don't think that there's any real top tier free
04:00 agents that are worth investing in.
04:01 All right, so basically, you see the Patriots using their 100 million cap space first on
04:07 their in house guys.
04:08 And then secondly, maybe taking the Belichick approach, not signing any big contracts, but
04:12 seeing where their areas of need are, and filling holes based on that need, maybe the
04:17 best available player for the best available contract, you know, gone are the days where
04:21 guys are gonna take less money to come to New England, I can't imagine anybody champing
04:25 at the bit to play in New England in December for a bottom tier team.
04:29 So it's gonna have to be a lucrative and incentivized contract for you to come play in New England.
04:34 They have to factor that part in, you see them going in house first, and then as needed
04:38 later, that's kind of your approach.
04:40 Yeah, I mean, like part of is you always want to the first wave of free agency, there aren't
04:44 a lot of players that get signed during that that you're like, oh, that was a good value.
04:49 And it's also it's not a situation where the Patriots are in a position where they have
04:52 to think about value because they have so much cap space, and they also have so many
04:56 needs.
04:57 But I think what the Patriots will want to do is, you know, invest through the draft,
05:02 they're going to try and get some blue chip players, they just they have so many holes,
05:06 and there aren't enough players on the free agent market that I think could really push
05:11 them over the edge.
05:12 When you look at like, who might be getting the big money, like, Kirk cousins gonna get
05:17 a ton of money in free agency, Baker Mayfield, second best quarterback out there, probably
05:22 going to get big money.
05:23 Is it worth it?
05:24 I don't think so.
05:25 I mean, we've seen Baker Mayfield, he's out there with the Bucs had his, you know, a strong
05:30 season.
05:31 But was that the best version of Baker Mayfield that you're going to get?
05:34 Is he going to get like 30 to 40 million per year in the open market?
05:38 Probably Patriots shouldn't be in on that.
05:41 And so I think where you know, instead of just building for who's the best player that
05:45 you can get right now with all the 100 million, you got to think about longer term, bigger
05:49 picture, what's the most sustainable way to rebuild this team?
05:52 Yeah, I really hope they don't fall into a very, very common NFL GM trap, which is, oh,
05:59 this guy started and won a game as a quarterback.
06:03 Let's give him a big contract.
06:05 We've seen it so many times in the past, a quarterback plays well for a couple of games.
06:09 Now the Baker's events, he made the playoffs, he was way better than say, a Mike Glennon,
06:13 one of those kind of roles.
06:14 But still, you don't want to see guys getting lopped on these big contracts for not that
06:18 great a performance.
06:19 We'll talk more about that in a little bit.
06:21 But I think rather than talk about the areas of need the Patriots have, because you said
06:26 there's really not a position where if they sign somebody be like, yeah, that was a waste.
06:30 They're totally set at this position.
06:32 I think every pretty much every level has a hole in some capacity on this roster, maybe
06:36 starting outside corner is okay.
06:39 But everywhere else, if they brought it, bring somebody in, I am totally cool with it.
06:42 So in your opinion, Rich, in terms of free agency, taking the draft out of it for a second,
06:47 what is their number one free agent target position wise you'd go for if you were the
06:51 GM here?
06:52 All of them.
06:53 Like, I mean, the big caveat is that like, they have a lot of needs, there just might
07:02 not be players that fit it.
07:04 Like, obviously, they need a quarterback.
07:07 Are they going to get one?
07:08 Is it one of those positions where you need to come back with one in out of free agency?
07:13 I don't think so.
07:14 I already mentioned that Baker Mayfield thing.
07:16 But like, after that, like, Russell Wilson, Gardner Minshew, those are like the next two
07:21 best players.
07:22 And if that's the case, I'd rather just run it back with Mac Jones and a rookie like bring
07:26 in Jacoby Brissett.
07:27 We talked about this last time, but like, there's no need to throw money at a position
07:32 that if it's not going to actually make your position better or make your roster better.
07:36 I mean, literally, they have no tight ends, they need to bring in tight ends.
07:42 I wouldn't be surprised if they signed a couple tight ends.
07:45 But also, are there any tight ends available and free agency that are really worth it?
07:50 Hunter Henry is probably the best tight end in free agency right now at this point, you
07:54 know, so like, is that going to be where they invest all their money?
07:59 I don't think so.
08:00 So they're probably going to sit out and wait.
08:02 I think that what the Patriots could do best is look at their positions and say, our number
08:08 two, number three, number four players at the position, are any of them playable?
08:13 You look at that interior line of the Patriots.
08:16 It's ghastly, like David Andrews, still, you know, the great leader, definitely on the
08:22 back end of his career, city, so came on strong at there, but like, would the Patriots be
08:29 better off if they found like a solid Ted Karras level left guard to replace Cole strange
08:35 who just like has not lived up to the expectation consistently dealing with injuries with the
08:40 roster be better off if you've got like two Ted Karras is on there versus what they had
08:44 last year where you know, just like constant rotations on the interior line.
08:49 That's where I would invest the money and it's just building out that middle class of
08:52 the roster.
08:53 I'll tell you one thing, one really big advantage the Patriots have in 2024 beyond the massive
08:58 amount of cap space is they're in a very good position in that nobody on that coaching staff
09:03 or that front office is in that I got to do something or I'm fired next year kind of situation.
09:09 You've seen so many contracts where guys are like, I have to do something.
09:12 It's not really skin up my ass if I'm gone next year anyway, so I'll just give this guy
09:15 a big contract, make this big splashy move, get the headlines.
09:19 Maybe it'll work out.
09:20 If it doesn't, I'm gone anyway.
09:21 They don't really have to take that approach, I think is really, really beneficial combined
09:24 with that hundred million plus cap space.
09:26 It really puts them in a good spot to do some really concerted and focused roster building.
09:31 So that enriched that had before we get into the actual Patriot specific stuff on second
09:36 down, last thing on first down, are there any free agent moves elsewhere in the league
09:40 that surprised you?
09:41 We know the bills are cleaning house right now.
09:42 They're well over the cap.
09:43 Any surprise cuts?
09:44 Russell Wilson might be one you're talking about.
09:47 That was one of maybe I don't know where that ranks.
09:48 It's kind of the all time worst trades in NFL history, but anything really kind of shock
09:53 you when around the league?
09:54 Well, I would say like the two worst trades in NFL history have to be Deshaun Watson and
09:59 Russell Wilson, and they happened in the same week.
10:01 So really bad.
10:03 But I think what is really notable when the Patriots will keep their eyes out for when
10:08 thinking around compensatory picks, when thinking around how they want to build this roster,
10:13 similar to how this is going to be a Packers style rebuild.
10:16 In the past, Packers would have like 50 out of 53 players on the roster or players that
10:21 they drafted or were undrafted free agents that they developed at home.
10:25 They're going to be very intentional about where they bring in players.
10:30 But you look at a lot of the veterans that are now all of a sudden available in free
10:35 agency, the bills, they cut Mitch Morse, who's a quality center.
10:39 They cut Jordan Poyer.
10:41 You know, you look at the Seahawks.
10:43 Jamal Adams has not lived up to the expectations with the Seahawks.
10:46 But how many safeties have come and played in the Belichick style defense that were underwhelming
10:51 somewhere else and then are all of a sudden incredible?
10:54 You know, Adrian Phillips had a great stretch here.
10:56 You think of Jabril Pepper is what he's been doing.
10:59 There is definitely a space for Jamal Adams if he wants to come and have a, you know,
11:03 prove it resurgent one year deal, especially if thinking, you know, what's the future for
11:06 Kyle Duggar?
11:08 You get some like veteran interior lineman, Mark Lewinsky, Laken Tomlinson, like players
11:13 that aren't going to push you into championship territory, but they raise your floor.
11:17 They're going to be better than what the Patriots have had on that offensive line.
11:21 These are the players that I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots, you know, decided to bring
11:25 into the fold, but also one that, you know, really speaks to the import of capitalizing
11:30 on your championship window.
11:33 I think the bills window might be over, like not in like a close and seal it shut kind
11:38 of a thing.
11:39 But the era that they had here, they're going to have to re retool their entire team if
11:46 they're going to contend, you know, the the roster that they had that brought them to
11:50 be one of the top three teams in the AFC that bore no fruit from a championship perspective.
11:56 That one's done.
11:57 You know, they don't have Josh Allen on a rookie contract their entire secondary.
12:01 I think they are cutting to Davias white.
12:02 Jordan Boyer's gone.
12:03 Micah Hyde's gone.
12:04 Like they don't have their secondary anymore.
12:07 That was their greatest strength on their defense.
12:11 Stefan digs getting another year older.
12:14 They've already been trying to figure out how they can find a second wide receiver and
12:17 Gabe Davis is now available in free agency.
12:20 This is a Bill's team, you know, they're cutting their offensive lineman.
12:23 I think there's still like 40 million in the hole.
12:26 From cap space perspective, they were in a bad spot.
12:30 And so like, for me, that's what I'm watching like this Bill's team.
12:34 What are they going to look like a year from now, two years from now, going to be drastically
12:38 different.
12:39 It is and therein lies the savage beauty of the NFL and all the more reason to appreciate
12:44 what we got these last 20 years, the consistency of the Patriots had.
12:49 What's up guys, it's Alec from Patriots first and gold on CLNS and I'm talking to you today
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14:02 But let's do a second down, Rachel, speaking of Patriots.
14:07 Patriots free agents.
14:08 There are a number of names that I think are important.
14:11 Kyle Duggar obviously is the big one in terms of he's already been transitioned.
14:14 The rumor is they've already got a multi-year deal on the table.
14:16 Rumor to be about $13 million a year.
14:18 We'll monitor that as things progress.
14:21 But as you mentioned, every single tight end on the roster, Mike Isecki, Hunter Henry,
14:26 and my guy, Pharaoh Brown, all free agents.
14:28 We've got Kendrick Bourne is a big free agent.
14:30 Josh Uche is a free agent.
14:32 Anthony Jennings, Miles Bryant, Jalen Mills.
14:35 So there's a lot of names that are homegrown talent or been around for long enough to deserve
14:40 that second contract, that third contract, whatever the case may be.
14:45 Is there anything in particular that you think, besides Duggars, since he seems to be in progress
14:49 of getting signed?
14:50 Is there an absolute Patriots must re-sign this guy to a cost player, or are they all
14:55 kind of expendable to you?
14:57 Yeah.
14:58 I would say there's two in my mind.
15:00 One, obviously, Michael Nwenu.
15:03 This is a very weak tackle class.
15:04 You're going to have to pay.
15:07 It's going to be okay, though.
15:08 He is an above average starter.
15:12 Deal with the devil, you know, than the one you don't.
15:14 There's not going to be a free agent tackle better than him than what you're going to
15:18 find.
15:19 You know that he can play.
15:20 You know that he can play multiple roles if you need to.
15:22 You will continue to build depth, but do what you have to to keep Nwenu in there.
15:28 But I don't think anyone's really surprised by that one.
15:31 My other player that I feel like they absolutely must do everything they can to retain him,
15:36 Anferty Jennings.
15:37 I don't think it's going to cost them a lot to do that.
15:40 But I think when you look at the depth that the Patriots have on the edge, like Judon's
15:45 going to be another year older.
15:46 Dietrich Weiss has a very specific role.
15:48 He plays a different role than Anferty Jennings did, but there's not a lot of depth out there.
15:54 Like Keon White plays kind of a different role than what Jennings did.
15:59 And I think what Jennings showed he could do last year, I think he led the league, tied
16:03 for the league lead in tackles for loss out there.
16:06 Is that Rob Ninkovich style can set the edge, can be reliable, can do what you need him
16:12 to do.
16:13 Maybe he won't put up a 12 sack season kind of a thing, but that's the kind of reliability
16:17 that you need up front that really sets the tone for the rest of the defense that allows
16:21 your secondary to take a little bit more risk that can force opposing offenses into the
16:25 second and third and long situations.
16:27 And he doesn't really make a lot of mistakes.
16:30 He is as solid as it gets.
16:32 He's someone that I imagine won't cost them a lot to retain, but would be worth every
16:36 penny.
16:37 Rich, I've known you for a long time.
16:39 I thought I knew you pretty well.
16:40 I would have bet the farm that Kendrick Bourne was named out of your mouth.
16:45 You are such a Kendrick Bourne guy.
16:47 You've always been a Kendrick Bourne guy, but you don't put you don't put him as like
16:50 a must resign kind of guy.
16:53 I would love to have him back.
16:56 Always hard to come after that injury.
16:58 And based off of how this Patriots offense was last year, the year before, if they're
17:03 like the only player that we want to retain in 2024 is Demario Douglas or maybe, you know,
17:09 remandri Stevenson as well.
17:10 But from a receiver perspective, Demario Douglas was the only player that they wanted to keep.
17:14 I would say, cool, I understand.
17:18 Like I love Bourne.
17:21 You love something.
17:22 You let him free.
17:23 I feel like he's shown what he can do.
17:24 And the Patriots just were not able to do anything with it over the past few years.
17:28 And now that he's dealing with the injury, now that you're older again, would love to
17:31 have him back, but I wouldn't put him in that need to keep pile.
17:35 What about my guy, Pharaoh Brown?
17:37 Like I said, there are no tight ends.
17:39 Hunter Henry will command at least some market because he's probably, as you mentioned, the
17:43 best tight end available on the market.
17:44 I can't see Mike Isecki coming back.
17:47 That just experiment never quite worked out.
17:49 Maybe there'll be some really.
17:50 Yeah, it's not really his fault.
17:52 It just never really managed to find a flow in the offense.
17:54 But I think Pharaoh Brown could be had for relatively cheap.
17:57 He was a good blocker, a good receiving option.
18:00 One of the more I hate to say this, one of the more electric offensive weapons the Patriots
18:04 had.
18:05 But I think he's probably of all the three tight ends.
18:08 He's probably the one with the best chance of coming back.
18:10 Yeah, I agree.
18:11 I mean, like, yeah, I would say he has no chance of coming back.
18:14 I think that they would want to have Henry back.
18:16 I think they have a price point.
18:17 They'd be like, yeah, that last deal we gave you was way too much.
18:21 We'll give you like four million a year this time around and like see what other people
18:26 on the market offer.
18:27 I just feel like he'll get an offer somewhere else.
18:30 Maybe he'll be like, I don't know, like in a New England they'll stay.
18:32 I can see that happening, but I don't think that the Patriots are going to overextend
18:37 themselves to keep Henry.
18:38 Although I think he did well.
18:40 He was the most reliable offensive player for the past like three years kind of a thing
18:46 to Kobe Myers notwithstanding.
18:47 Like I'm fine with that.
18:50 Other player we haven't really talked a lot about on the other defensive players.
18:55 Miles Bryant.
18:56 I think he'll be back.
18:57 What do you think?
18:58 Yeah, it's interesting.
18:59 I think it's gonna be a Miles Bryant or Jalen Mills.
19:02 I don't think either.
19:03 I think both of those guys will come back.
19:05 I can see that if they decided to pen more on the Kyle Duggar and Miles Bryant, I think
19:10 it's he Mills being the odd man out there.
19:12 He's coming up probably it could be the best season of his career, Miles Bryant.
19:16 So that might make him a little more pricey than the Patriots willing to pay.
19:19 I wouldn't break the bank for a cornerback of his caliber, but they will have the cap
19:24 space to do it.
19:25 I think the right place to good combination, but I don't see them signing both Mills and
19:30 Bryant.
19:31 I agree.
19:32 I agree.
19:33 And I mean, like they cut Mills.
19:34 I think Mills is like has run his course in New England in the same way that Adrian Phillips
19:38 did like, I think Mills was great for what he did for the Patriots.
19:42 I don't think that he's here for the longer haul.
19:46 And I think that Bryant is just getting started.
19:48 I think that he did have his best season last year.
19:52 And I think that he just has like a lot more upside to go.
19:55 So I wouldn't be surprised if they brought it back.
19:59 He's a starter for them.
20:00 I think that I like the upside of Marcus Jones, but Miles Bryant was reliable out there.
20:06 Obviously he got exposed on some like high leverage plays, but that's just the nature
20:10 of the role he was doing out there.
20:12 And then if you're able to return the Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, Miles Bryant top
20:16 three, and then you have any other players that step up, if Jones is able to step up
20:21 as well.
20:22 Sean Wade, I think played well in limited time.
20:24 Alex Austin, I liked in limited time.
20:26 You have a pretty good cornerback room right there.
20:28 - Last we'll talk about Rich on the Patriots side.
20:31 I think it's pretty an interesting perspective.
20:33 I mean, it's two I'll bring up, two names I'll bring up.
20:35 We haven't really talked about too deeply.
20:37 Josh Uche coming off of 2022 had a great season.
20:41 I think he only had about three sacks last year, not a huge 2023 campaign.
20:46 And the opposite side of that, Mack Wilson was kind of a pleasant surprise for the Patriots.
20:50 I don't think either of these two guys will command a high price tag, but they might be
20:54 looking to upgrade the position of those two guys, which has the best odds of coming back.
21:00 - Mack Wilson, I think he has that special teams ability.
21:03 He's that core player.
21:04 They don't have a lot of that depth on the interior.
21:07 So obviously like Jawan Bentley under contract and then Tavai is under contract for a year,
21:11 but like, yeah, Chris Borde and Raekwon McMillan, like there's a very clear path to the field
21:16 for Mack Wilson.
21:17 He's one injury, he got a substantial amount of playing time last year anyways, and he
21:20 did very well.
21:22 I think that they like him.
21:25 I think he liked Mayo.
21:26 I think he would love to be back.
21:28 You know, he played about 300 snaps last year on defense.
21:31 I could see that improving a little bit.
21:33 And then ultimately at the end of it, I wouldn't be surprised if Uche commands like a lot more
21:37 than what the Patriots really think he's worth.
21:39 Like I could see him getting like eight million or something like that, that if I'm the Patriots,
21:44 like would you pay him more than Dietrich wise?
21:47 Would you pay him like in between wise and in Judon?
21:52 I wouldn't.
21:53 I mean, I would say like, give me that fourth round of compensatory pick and call it a,
21:56 call it a career with him because I don't think that they really found a way for him
22:00 to play beyond just being that like third down pass rusher.
22:04 They never viewed him as an every down player.
22:06 He peaked at like 35% of the snaps in 2022.
22:11 He barely, he didn't even play 30% of the snaps last year.
22:14 He's a rotational player in New England.
22:15 He'll get more playing time.
22:16 He'll get to go after the quarterback a little bit more.
22:18 And I think the Patriots, you know, similar to like Chase Winovich, we'll be like, let's
22:23 start again later.
22:24 Yeah.
22:25 One of those guys that we like to use the word flashed around a lot here.
22:29 Some guys he flashed phenomenally athletic at times, but has never quite found his footing
22:33 in New England.
22:34 And there are enough teams out there.
22:35 I think that could use a depth guy that they might get more money to help command.
22:39 Luckily though, with chill, there are plenty of other frames out there for the Patriots
22:42 to bring on outside the roster.
22:43 We're going to talk about in a minute, third and goal coming up.
22:48 All right, Rich Hill, we've kind of broken down the Patriots for free agents.
22:50 How we think it's going to come back.
22:52 Who's not now to the more fun part or the less fun part, depending on how you look at
22:56 it.
22:57 Who do you see coming in elsewhere?
22:59 There are a lot of players that are going to be available.
23:01 There's a top, there's no, there's not a, as you mentioned, it's not like a, a massively
23:06 talent heavy or superstar heavy, I should say for agency class.
23:09 I don't know if it's going to be this, maybe Chris Jones might be the, the most elite target.
23:15 You mentioned Kirk cousins.
23:16 He's going to get a bag from somebody.
23:17 He'll probably get back to Minnesota if I had to guess.
23:20 But besides those two, it's not like there's like, Oh my goodness, I cannot believe this
23:23 guy's hitting the free agency market.
23:25 Mike Evans had been locked up, T Hagan had been franchised tags.
23:28 We're not really going to see any of those kind of headline making signings.
23:32 However, there are still a number of players out there who will be available, who will
23:36 be attainable for the contract page if you want to give them.
23:40 And we mentioned there's just so many holes.
23:43 If you had your kind of you were the GM and you could pick solely on just your own feeling
23:47 of I like this guy, he's a good fit.
23:50 We can get them for, for cheap or cheap ish.
23:52 Who are you looking to get?
23:53 Are you looking to bring in?
23:56 I'm going to name a few players and you're going to, you're going to sense a theme.
24:00 Jacoby Brissett.
24:02 That's one.
24:04 Another one will be Donovan Peoples Jones.
24:11 Another one will be Austin Hooper.
24:13 And what is the common thread across all of them?
24:18 Huh?
24:19 Well, they, they like to, they're, they're football players.
24:22 That's one.
24:23 Yep.
24:24 They're all Cleveland Browns or from the Cleveland Browns system.
24:29 Yep.
24:30 And that's exactly what I think that we'll see a lot of, especially on offense is we're
24:35 going to see an influx of players that know the Alex van Pelt system that have done pretty
24:40 well in it.
24:41 You know, Donovan Peoples Jones, he got traded to the lions for a small six round pick in
24:48 2025.
24:50 Didn't really do that much.
24:52 But 2022 led them or, you know, had a career high 839 receiving yards and had three scores.
24:59 Like he can play if you're in the right opportunity.
25:02 He's six foot two, 212 can be that bigger presence that like they kind of wish Devante
25:06 Parker was.
25:08 I wouldn't be surprised if we saw instead of the Patriots paying for those top tier
25:14 players in free agency, like this is going to be the modified homegrown talent is going
25:19 to be bringing in the players that Alex van Pelt knows have been able to succeed in his
25:24 system.
25:25 And that's what I firmly expect to happen on offense.
25:30 All right.
25:31 So you don't think you take Hooper over, say, a Dalton Schultz will become available?
25:37 Yeah, because I think Schultz, it's going back to the Texans, maybe or something like
25:43 that.
25:44 But I mean, when you look at like, what is the cost effectiveness of it?
25:46 Like, as you said, Hunter Henry is probably the best tight end in free agency, which is
25:51 not a great thing to say.
25:53 And so then you look at who are some of the other options, it's not going to be Guseki
25:57 or Johnny Smith.
25:58 And those are some of the other top players out there.
26:01 And so maybe they'll bring in a Will Disley, who was let go by the Seahawks.
26:04 I wouldn't be surprised if it's Hooper.
26:06 He's also, you know, 29 years old, he has shown in the past that he can be a good receiver.
26:11 He knows the system.
26:13 He's someone that I know the Patriots were interested in in the past.
26:17 So I think that there will be a prioritization of players this year that are familiar with
26:23 the system that also won't break the bank to help make the transition for all of the
26:27 other players on the roster as easy as possible.
26:32 We're sitting on the offense for a second, Rich Hill.
26:34 I think tight is one of the more intriguing options because again, there literally isn't
26:38 one on the roster right now.
26:39 So we're gonna have to do something I can't imagine they address them entirely in free
26:43 in the draft, excuse me.
26:44 So there's going to be a tight end or two sign.
26:46 By the way, I think Pharaoh Brown is one but he's not like a receiving tight end.
26:50 He's not kind of like a top guy, something to watch for.
26:52 You mentioned that you're willing to let your guy Kendrick Bourne walk if necessary, which
26:57 basically leads to Mario Douglas as the only real receiving option.
27:01 So let's talk some frequency wide receivers.
27:02 Are there any receivers out there that are intriguing to you?
27:06 Maybe a Gabe Davis you mentioned coming off the bills.
27:08 Odell Beckham is available.
27:10 He'll be 31 if you want to touch him and Tyler Boyd from the Bengals could be a good option
27:14 possibly Michael Pittman from the Colts.
27:17 Any receiver thing to fit the Patriots system?
27:19 Yeah, I mean, there are a lot of players that I would have likes, you know, the T Higgins
27:25 Evans and Pittman trio are the three best.
27:27 They're all going back to their original teams would have loved to have them on the outside.
27:33 You look at the next tier, like, I don't want to give Calvin Ridley a lot of money.
27:37 I don't think he's shown enough consistency over his career to warrant it.
27:41 And then your next year you got your speedsters and Marquise Brown and Gabe Davis could be
27:46 interesting.
27:47 They can be even wildly inconsistent as well.
27:50 The player that I would be curious about if they have any interest is Darnell Mooney who
27:54 had a pretty good start to his career with the Chicago Bears would provide the Patriots
27:59 some speed on the outside that I think that they need, especially when you think of like
28:03 from a roster perspective, Pop Douglas is on the inside.
28:06 That's your slot receiver right there with the Patriots need is someone that they can
28:09 count on on the outside in both a speedster way but also as well as like someone who can
28:14 be just like reliably forcing the defense not to sit all in the middle of the field.
28:19 And so like who can do that?
28:22 Not sure.
28:23 There's not a lot of really good options out there beyond the players that we mentioned
28:26 and a lot of the really good other players kind of sit in the middle of the field players
28:30 that I do like Curtis Samuel, Tyler Boyd.
28:33 Those are players that sit in the middle of the field.
28:36 They're not really field stretchers.
28:37 Michael Thomas has not done a lot since he's been in dealing with so many injuries with
28:40 the saints.
28:41 He's a slot receiver.
28:43 Noah Brown, that is a player that, you know, look at the Patriots beat.
28:48 They've been teasing a lot.
28:49 Wouldn't be surprised if they showed some interest in there.
28:54 But I just I don't see there being a top flight wide receiver that can really change the roster
29:00 that will be available in free agency.
29:03 And so honestly, I wouldn't be a little bit more surprised if they turned their focus
29:06 to you know, who might be available via trade.
29:10 Similar to how you look at how a lot of the other quarterbacks, young quarterbacks have
29:14 benefit from, you know, Dolphins acquiring Tyreek Hill, Josh Allen getting Stefan Diggs.
29:20 You know, they didn't work well, but you know, Justin Fields getting a player from, you know,
29:26 more from the Panthers.
29:28 I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots did something like that.
29:30 Yeah, I mean, I think receiver, you know, I know people are always talking about Marvin
29:34 Harrison at three, he'll most likely be there.
29:37 And you got receiver and that would be a potential big move that moving that room up.
29:42 I love Samuel, I think he's a great fit for the Patriots.
29:45 He's kind of like a gadget player, you can line up over the place, he's really good at
29:47 yards after the catch, which I think they're going to need in 2024.
29:51 I can't imagine the Patriots being this chunk yard play offense in 2024, given the dearth
29:57 of talent along those lines.
29:58 I think Samuel could be a good day to free agent signing that could really, really fit
30:02 in well with that system, provided they have somebody who can block and catch it with high
30:06 damage.
30:07 How about defensively, Rich defense is still the strength of this team.
30:10 They're still pretty good talent on the front, getting Matthew Judon back.
30:14 Secondary still pretty solid Duggar, most likely be back.
30:16 They've got Johnny, Johnny Tavai in the middle as a linebacker.
30:19 They're not completely lacking with talent on the defensive side of the ball.
30:22 But where's the one area on the defense?
30:25 You see the Pats wanted to target and free agency?
30:27 Yeah, I mean, I think where they haven't felt great about is that that free safety spot.
30:32 I mean, I think you look at all of the other positions, they're returning most of the starters,
30:36 you know, like Bentley and divide when we in the middle, as you mentioned, Judon is
30:40 going to return.
30:41 But you have him, Keon White and teacher wise as the trio and hopefully Jennings can come
30:45 back as well.
30:46 They intentionally let go of Lawrence guy because they like what they have with God
30:49 Sean Barmore is the top two up front.
30:52 We have that trio of Christian Gonzalez, Jonathan Jones, and then whether it's Marcus Jones
30:56 or like Alex Austin or, you know, Miles Bryant, as we mentioned, as an option to return, like
31:01 they're fine from their top players at the cornerback spot.
31:04 But from a safety position, they have Jabril Peppers, who is the only real safety that
31:09 they have under the roster.
31:10 And he's a box player.
31:12 You know, they they used him all over the place.
31:13 They use them all over the place.
31:14 Don't get me wrong.
31:15 And like he did well.
31:17 But I think what they would really love to have is a Devin McCourty type center field
31:21 safety again, because I don't think that that was maximizing Kyle Duggar's potential by
31:28 having him play a little bit deeper than what he used to do when they had a Devin McCourty
31:33 out there.
31:34 So that's not to say that they there are a lot of free agent safeties out there that
31:38 could really be that type of a player for them.
31:41 But I wouldn't be surprised if they looked at bringing in someone who has that center
31:45 field ability that could provide that value on that back end.
31:50 Again, not a lot of options out there.
31:53 Maybe Eddie Jackson formerly of the Bears, but like that is what I would be looking for
31:56 if I were the Patriots.
31:57 Yeah, Eddie Jackson be good.
31:59 I like Chauncey Gardner Johnson from the Lions.
32:02 The Eagles missed him a lot.
32:03 They might be going after him.
32:05 I like Xavier McKinney.
32:06 He had a lot of good stats last year and Cameron Curl.
32:10 I think are three good options for safety.
32:12 But again, it's not this kind of like elite.
32:15 Devin McCourty is not out there waiting for him, unfortunately.
32:17 So they might have to kind of just adjust accordingly.
32:20 But yeah, I mean, it's really interesting time, man.
32:22 I really don't know how to kind of gauge this.
32:26 I'm going to be usually as a Patriots fan in the past couple years, I don't really pay
32:30 attention when it starts because I know every time my phone beeps, it's not the Patriots
32:34 signing somebody, it's somebody else.
32:36 And you get that weird sinking feeling.
32:38 You're just like, well, the bills just got a lot better.
32:40 Oh, great.
32:41 The Dolphins Tyree kill.
32:43 That's exciting.
32:44 But yeah, this year, I think we're gonna get some good good fun notifications coming up
32:47 on our phones here.
32:48 Rachel, to that end, good rich phones, close it out fourth and goal.
32:53 Absolute dream, either dream free agent signing for you all your wishes come true with this
32:57 guy, or be dream kind of free agent slash trade that gets made in the coming weeks.
33:04 That just makes you so so happy.
33:05 Do you have any scenarios like that?
33:07 Yeah, I do.
33:08 I mean, one where I don't think that there's like a player that would be like, Oh, my gosh,
33:14 they got in free agency this year.
33:16 Because as I said, like most of the players that were like those blue chip players have
33:21 already been either re signed by their team, or they've been tagged, you know, unless you're
33:26 looking at that defensive line position, like, I would love DJ reader with the Patriots.
33:32 But I just don't think that the Patriots really have that need on the interior to spend that
33:37 type of money, I think we'll get more money elsewhere.
33:40 So like, I don't really think there's any players that are really earned that.
33:45 And then like, I don't think that they need to have an edge player unless they want to
33:47 find like an heir apparent to Jude on and bring in like Daniel Hunter from the Vikings
33:51 or something like that.
33:54 What I would really love to see the Patriots try and take a swing at is what I mentioned
33:58 of like, bringing in whether it's a wide receiver or a tight end that is going to be a free
34:02 agent in 2025 2026, getting one of those blue chip players that like, could help whatever
34:09 young quarterback or whatever quarterback that they have really take the offense over
34:16 the top.
34:17 Because right now, as I said, there's not a lot of players that you can bring in a free
34:19 agency, they're gonna have to acquire them in some way.
34:24 I think that the bucks are going to keep Chris Godwin and we're looking at the wide receivers
34:27 that are going to be free agents in 2025.
34:30 Like I don't think that they're going to go for like a Keenan Allen or Mike Williams kind
34:33 of a thing.
34:34 But you know, going on that original idea of Mari Cooper, he's going to be free agent
34:40 from the Browns got to have a $20 million price tag.
34:43 Is he someone that they want to bring back?
34:45 Or you know, bring over from his time with Alex van Pelt, look at some of the other options
34:49 Deontay Johnson from the the Steelers, you know, Hopkins obviously going to be older,
34:55 but he's going to be, you know, available at that point in time.
34:57 But then you look at some of the younger players, like, I don't think that the Bengals are going
35:01 to get rid of Jamar chase dolphins, they want to keep Jalen wattle and then the the Eagles
35:05 want to keep Devante Smith.
35:08 But can all three of them stay with one of them become available?
35:12 You think of how much the Bengals you know, with T Higgins, they can't keep both T Higgins
35:15 and Jamar chase beyond next year.
35:18 So is there going to be one of them that's going to become available for the Patriots?
35:21 Tyree kill Jalen wattle?
35:22 Are they going to be able to keep both of them for the dolphins?
35:25 Devante Smith, AJ Brown and Smith, can they keep them both?
35:28 So is it going to be worth it for one of those teams to trade that player to the Patriots
35:34 in exchange for you know, 2025 early pick kind of a thing.
35:39 And then you have some of the other players and I'm just going off right now with CD lamb.
35:42 I like it.
35:43 I like Justin Jefferson, Brandon a like there's a lot of players out there that are really
35:48 good that are going to be free agents in the next year.
35:52 And so like, obviously, like I don't think all of them will leave.
35:55 I'm on Rossi Brown.
35:56 No way he gets out of Detroit.
35:58 But that's all just to say there's a lot of wide receivers that will become free agents
36:02 in the next year or two.
36:04 And so it's very likely that at least one of them could become a potential trade target
36:08 for the Patriots and I would love to see New England with all of their cap space do what
36:12 they should have been doing the later years of Tom Brady when they didn't acquire or I
36:16 guess like AJ Brown wasn't during that time frame but like there was a lot of free agent
36:20 players Deandre Hopkins was one of them where they didn't think it was worth paying for
36:25 those veteran wide receivers instead tried to draft them and just failed at it.
36:29 I would love for them to take one of those chances with whatever young quarterback they
36:32 have right now.
36:33 I asked for a dream scenario and dream scenarios I got that is quite a lengthy list rich.
36:39 The only thing I'm concerned with I don't know like what kind of trade value and capital
36:43 they have to get all these guys in.
36:45 I guess that's drug.
36:46 Mayo's problem not mine.
36:47 Rich I live by a pretty simple philosophy is I say I set the bar very very low in your
36:52 life and that way you're never disappointed if you don't really set it because in the
36:56 stream you don't have any good dreams you keep the bar set low you never have to worry
37:00 about getting disappointed.
37:02 So my dream scenario is just this draft or bring in bring back to Kobe percent.
37:07 I like him.
37:08 I think he's a bridge quarterback.
37:10 You draft a quarterback at three.
37:12 You do a year at Jacoby.
37:13 Let the rookie learn.
37:14 I've still been a very big proponent.
37:16 Matt Jones might unfortunately be yet another example of maybe it's beneficial to let a
37:20 guy learn for a year before he is thrust into a starting position.
37:24 I think any quarterback who started the Patriots offense in 2024 as a rookie is completely screwed.
37:29 You have to learn the system learn the NFL learn the new pace with a crappy offense.
37:34 Bring it to Kobe.
37:35 Draft a quarterback.
37:37 Let him learn.
37:38 And then that's when five six games we can keep them going for next time.
37:41 That's all I want to see over the next week and a half.
37:44 Just bring in Jacoby Brissett.
37:46 I love that.
37:47 I mean honestly it's one of those things too where I also I don't want them to trade Matt
37:50 Jones.
37:51 I want them to keep Matt Jones.
37:53 I want them to have Jacoby Brissett and I want them to get a quarterback whether it's
37:57 Jane Daniels Drake may bow Knicks like whoever it's going to be.
38:01 I want that to be the trio.
38:03 I'm gonna tell you why.
38:04 It's because uh Jacoby Brissett's going to be your floor.
38:08 He's not going to be an above average quarterback.
38:11 He is going to fluctuate between being the 15th and the 25th best starter in the NFL
38:17 if you put him out there and that's not great but that's what you're gonna get and that's
38:24 going to be okay because if he plays at that level and he's your best option you're gonna
38:30 get another topic and that's going to be okay.
38:34 If Mac Jones outplays Jacoby Brissett cool maybe that's him returning back to what that
38:40 rookie year promise looked like and maybe he can be an above average quarterback.
38:44 Maybe that's worth looking at.
38:46 Worst case scenario if he does that that increases his trade value.
38:50 If the rookie is better then you have your guy.
38:54 Any rookie that comes out looking like a top 15 player I'm gonna be okay with.
38:59 That's gonna be outperforming any sort of expectation and so that way you're kind of
39:02 maximizing all three values.
39:04 You're setting your floor with Jacoby.
39:06 You know what you're gonna get from him.
39:08 He knows the offense with Alex Van Pelt.
39:10 He knows New England.
39:11 He knows Gerard Mayo.
39:12 All of those things work together.
39:14 I think it gives the Patriots the best chance also to get a chip because Mac Jones has looked
39:21 good at times you know and it's also worth getting a young quarterback in the system
39:25 and not just punting from one of their top positions.
39:29 All of these are worth throwing as many darts at the board as you can and I think keeping
39:34 Mac Jones allows you to keep one dart that has had some shine fall off but is it really
39:39 his fault over the past two years?
39:41 Do you think Mac Jones and we're not really talking race anymore.
39:45 That's okay.
39:46 It's extra point time extra point or go for two.
39:49 What do you think Mac Jones is trade value is on the open market if they do decide to
39:53 trade him they get more like a fifth round pick.
39:56 I think that's reasonable.
39:57 I don't know honestly you look at some of the other quarterbacks that have been traded
40:02 like what did Sam Darnold get traded for when he went I believe it was to the Panthers when
40:08 he went to the Jets he's had multiple stops since then so I'm blanking on who the first
40:13 team was immediately after he was getting traded but it was for a this year sixth round
40:19 pick and then a future second and then a future fourth right like he wasn't good and so that's
40:27 notable in my mind that like he wasn't good and you know he was third overall pick thought
40:31 he was some promise but he already had three years under his belt they knew what he was
40:35 and Mac Jones has shown more promise than Sam Darnold had done at any point in my mind
40:41 and so could he get a you know future second round pick I don't think he'd get like a second
40:46 round pick this year but maybe like a third round pick I could see him getting you know
40:52 a late day to pick in a day three pick kind of a thing.
40:56 I don't think he's not going to get a first round pick obviously I would be shocked if
40:59 anyone gave him a second round pick on it but like there's enough proof that like he
41:05 has shown an ability I think everyone knows that the Patriots offense was hot garbage over
41:12 the past two years and it was not entirely his fault and I think that you know people
41:19 could just sense that like okay maybe it's worth giving him one more chance in a completely
41:23 different system.
41:24 That makes sense to me Rich I'd like I don't know I'm still kind of on the fence whether
41:29 I'd like to see Mac Jones back or not pardon me for his own sake maybe you feel like gotta
41:33 let him go I don't know if he can come back from being benched and maybe a fresh start
41:38 it's good for him but what a great story it would be if Bill Belichick leaves Drodnay
41:42 as the coach and all of a sudden Mac Jones just starts winding it up again and maybe
41:46 they're in a situation where they have a good rookie and Mac Jones and the trade value like
41:49 you said goes up next year who the heck knows but yeah I know you're always you're a big
41:54 offseason guy I was never a big offseason guy but in 2024 I'm officially an offseason
42:00 guy so I'm on the bandwagon with you now it should be a fun couple weeks coming up.
42:04 Yeah totally and like I know we were talking about dreams and areas my last one I hope
42:08 that the Patriots keep all their homegrown talent I want Duggar I want on Wayne who I
42:12 want bar more we haven't talked about him at all that would be the best way for the
42:15 Patriots to spend their money it's a these are the players that we know can succeed here
42:19 let's keep them around let's not throw money at problems that won't solve anything and
42:24 yeah I'm just very excited to see what the Patriots have in store for this offseason for
42:30 us.
42:31 Indeed man it should be fun so we're back next week once the actual ratings start coming
42:35 in hopefully when we come back to this podcast it's not crickets and we're still waiting
42:39 for them to do something so ideally we'll be back next week if not next week and we
42:43 have to wait until like Saturday or Sunday to have our first signing it would not be
42:48 unfamiliar territory hopefully it'll be a little more exciting than than years past
42:53 I feel like we are past like past public podcast back in the day would be like well it's free
42:57 agency nothing to talk about yet what are we waiting for it's like the first day of
43:02 the draft like the round one recap we're like yeah so the Patriots traded so got nothing
43:08 for you yeah yeah well hopefully we'll have a lot more to discuss next week I'm very hopeful
43:16 for it they do have money and they need to spend it so something will hopefully I a domino
43:20 will have fallen by then until that time Alec you have a good one you do buddy see ya all
43:26 right later man
43:27 [Music]