New England Patriots - NESN.com
Mike Vrabel knows the Patriots are in an advantageous position entering NFL free agency.
“Free agency gets broken down into compensation and then it gets broken down into opportunity,” Vrabel told reporters at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday, per the Patriots. “I feel like we’re in a position to offer both as far compensation and opportunity for some of these players.”
New England owns the most cap space in the league entering free agency, which begins March 10 with the legal tampering period. The Patriots also have as many holes on their roster as any team in the league. With a new regime, you can make the case only quarterback Drake Maye and cornerback Christian Gonzalez have solidified spots.
Those factors provide the Patriots plenty of opportunities this offseason.
“We want to be aggressive,” Vrabel said. “We want to target players that we feel like are going to help us. That are going to be outstanding players, that are going to be outstanding additions to the locker room and the community. And if that all fits and the compensation fits, I’m confident we’ll be aggressive.”
Following his press conference, Vrabel told Sirus XM Radio the Patriots want to address their needs in free agency so they enter April’s draft without needing to force anything.
“We want to add enough players in FA, ‘Here’s the roster, we can line up and play tomorrow.’ Then let the draft come to us,” Vrabel told Sirus XM, per NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry.
Vrabel acknowledged the Patriots have had conversations about impending free agents and stressed the importance of having “different plans.”
“I mean, things are going to change. Everybody is looking at the same players,” Vrabel said. “So we have to be able to pivot and adjust and have a vision for each player at each level.
“There’s going to be this high level that things are going to get done very quickly, that’ll transition then to maybe just mid-range dollars and then obviously you look at opportunity.”
Fortunately for Vrabel and the Patriots, they should be able to cater to it all.
