New England Patriots - NESN.com
The Patriots will soon embark on a transformative offseason, which includes major organizational, staffing and roster changes. NESN gave me a shot at predicting what those changes will look like, helping turn things around for New England entering 2025. Welcome to the penultimate installment of our Patriots Manifesto, where we show you what the team will actually look like.
Part 1: The Patriots Manifesto | Part 2: Organizational Changes | Part 3: Trades | Part 4: Free Agency | Part 5: 2025 NFL Draft
The Patriots aren’t going to fix all of their issues in one offseason, but taking similar steps to the ones we laid out throughout this exercise could accelerate what should be a two- to three-year rebuild.
New England ultimately needs to add talent, which is why we primarily focused on younger players who are looking to continue building value. The Patriots can offer two things to all of them: opportunity and cash. It’s a pretty decent place to start.
It’s easy to argue building a culture starts with proven veterans, but while that might be true, there’s also something to be said about injecting this team with youth and energy. Mike Vrabel has proven himself to be a culture specialist, so let the man earn his money by inking talented players across premium positions. Eliot Wolf and Ryan Cowden will work in lockstep trying to align the front office’s vision with that of the big guy in charge, but there’s little doubt ownership will be pushing to land some big names who can immediately raise New England’s floor.
We can’t keep every single person mentioned throughout this series on the roster, however, which is why we’re going to chip it down into one final roster projection. If you’d like to see how we got there, check out the links at the top of the page.
Drake Maye, Joe Milton III
Maye is the face of the franchise. Milton proved himself to be a capable backup, if not a whole lot more, in the final game of the regular season. Jimmy Garoppolo is the odd man out, as our offseason signing was primarily made to provide a veteran presence throughout the offseason and give the club another arm to get through the preseason.
New England doesn’t have many position groups with proven talent, so we’re taking advantage of one of them here — entrusting a pair of sophomores with the keys moving forward.
Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, Brashard Smith, Tahj Brooks
Stevenson, Gibson, Smith and Brooks are quite the group, and served as the easiest to pare down when we did mock roster cuts. Terrell Jennings is the lone cut, as we find a way to provide legitimate depth at the position for the first time in a few seasons.
Tee Higgins, Darius Slayton, DeMario Douglas, Jaylin Noel, Kayshon Boutte, Ja’Lynn Polk
Higgins and Slayton were both big-money additions, and will be relied upon heavily...
