David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports New England ended its 2023 campaign with a 4-13 record. When the New England Patriots left the snow-covered Gillette Stadium field on Sunday afternoon, they collectively headed into the unknown. The 2024 offseason, after all, shapes up to be a franchise-altering one in several ways. The biggest question mark sits at the very top. After leading the organization for the last 24 seasons and winning six championships, head coach and de facto general manager Bill Belichick is not guaranteed a return. With his team bottoming out at 4-13 and missing the postseason in three of the last four years, his status is unclear. On Monday, Belichick and team owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft are expected to meet to discuss the future of the franchise. Whether or not Belichick will be part of, or to what extent, remains unclear less than 24 hours after the 2023 season ended with a 17-3 loss to the New York Jets. “I’m under contract, do what I always do, which is every day I come in work as hard as I can to work the team in whatever way I can. So, that’s what I’m going to continue to do,” he told reporters during his end-of-season media availability on Monday. “End-of-the-year process, I don’t think, will be fundamentally any different from the standpoint of how it’s done. The decisions, that’s a whole other conversation.” Belichick is just the tip of the iceberg. His fingerprints, after all, are all over the organization. Given that he led the Patriots’ football operations on both the coaching and personnel side for almost a quarter century, either removing him or altering his responsibilities would create a massive trickle-down effect from the coaching staff, to the front office, to the pro and college scouting departments. In case the Patriots want to disassociate themselves with him and what he built, they would have to rip the entire structure apart. But even if they don’t, and Belichick does remain with the team in some capacity, it seems unlikely that there will be no change. The same, obviously, is true for the roster as well. And once more, the very top of the food chain is in the spotlight here as well. The 2023 season showed that neither Mac Jones nor Bailey Zappe appear to be viable long-term solutions to start at the most important position on the field. While there seems to be a chance that at least one of the quarterbacks stays put — they are on relatively cost-controlled rookie contracts — the Patriots will likely prepare themselves for pursuing a new long-term option, most likely via the draft. The list of potential departures runs deeper than those two names. The Patriots also have 24 players headed toward free agency, including several starters and core players in all three phases of the game. That list includes four members of the 2020 draft class — safety Kyle Dugger, edge linebackers Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings, and offensive lineman Michael Onwenu — as well as starters at wide receiver (Kendrick Bourne), tight end (Hunter Henry) and left tackle (Trent Brown). Additionally, long-time team captain Matthew Slater is a realistic candidate to head into retirement after his 16th NFL season. Whatever the reasons, the Patriots will have to address both the starting level at several positions, and the backup spots all over the depth chart. In order to “start reconstruction” of the four-win team, as Belichick put it, massive investments will be necessary. Luckily for the Patriots, they have the capital to make those. In terms of salary cap space, New England is projected among the most potent teams this offseason. At the moment, salary cap expert Miguel Benzan projects the club to be $69.85 million under a $242.5 million cap. That number is not set in stone, however. By parting ways with players such as cornerback J.C. Jackson, safety Adrian Phillips and defensive tackle Lawrence Guy, for example, the team could reach almost $85 million in cap space — enough to re-sign priority free agents such as Dugger or Onwenu, and to bring in some outside reinforcements. In addition to the monetary flexibility, the Patriots also will have plenty of draft capital to work with. One of the benefits of ending the season at 4-13 is that the club will draft third overall in April, and either second, third, or fourth in every subsequent round. The first three picks alone — those that are already finalized before the league’s compensatory process adds up to 32 total extra selections in Rounds 4-7 — carry a total value of 762.19 points on the Rich Hill draft value chart. For comparison, the Patriots’ entire 2023 capital on the eve of the draft was worth 606.24 points (which at the time was still the 13th-most in the NFL). The Patriots have plenty of holes to fill. There are questions all over the roster, coaching staff and personnel department. Uncertainty reigns supreme at this point in time. But, as a look at the available resources shows, there also is hope. Whoever will be tasked with rebuilding the Patriots doesn’t have to start from scratch. Source: https://www.patspulpit.com/2024/1/8/240 ... ree-agency
