Pats go all-in on Day 1
Spend nearly $200M
This is how much Bill Belichick and the Patriots hate losing.
At the dawn of NFL free agency Monday, they committed themselves to roughly $200 million worth of fresh contracts.
They addressed nearly every single roster hole in seven hours.
They betrayed core tenets of their team-building philosophy, a value system that has unfailingly rewarded them for 20 years, just to wash the taste of 7-9 out of their mouths.
Will it work?
No one can know. No one ever does in March.
What history says is the declared “winners” of free agency usually become losers when the football starts. The Pats have long exemplified the inverse of that relationship, annually sitting out the first waves of free agency before cruising for a nice, long playoff run. No more. Now, context is key. The Pats were among three teams armed with more than $60 million in 2021 cap room when the sun rose Monday morning. They led the NFL in projected 2022 cap space at $151.77 million, albeit with only 24 players under contract. The NFL cap is also expected to balloon soon once a new TV deal is struck this year, injecting billions and billions of dollars into the league’s revenue stream.
Perhaps more important than cap figures and incoming revenue is the fact Bill Belichick will turn 69 in April. His football mortality is encroaching. Surely, Belichick wants another ring and loathed how an inflexible roster, however hard-working and determined amid trying circumstances, undercut the team’s chances of winning as soon as it hit the field.
He needed versatility. He needed creativity. He needed players who put a scare into opposing coaching staffs, raised the Patriots’ ceiling and their floor.
Enter seven free agents, all of whom boast diverse skill sets.
With their first deal Monday, the Pats made former Titans tight end Jonnu Smith the highest-paid skillposition player in franchise history. Rob Gronkowski never saw that money Smith is set to earn on a four-year, $50 million contract with a reported $31.25 million guaranteed. Smith, 25, is an ascending talent who broke onto the league scene three seasons ago for his receiving talents and has since fortified his blocking.
The Pats will deploy him everywhere, maybe even the backfield, to maximize his talents. Smith is a monster after the catch, breaking 14 tackles on 41 receptions a year ago. The Patriots are paying for the best football of his career, which they clearly see as ahead of him.
Moments later, Ravens linebacker Matthew Judon became the team’s highestpaid defender ever.
Judon has never recorded 10 sacks. He’s never made an All-Pro team. He has, however, demonstrated an ability to impact the game as a pass-rusher, edge-setter and, on occasion, defender in coverage.
In Baltimore, Judon recorded a QB hit on more than 8% of all pass-rushing snaps, third-highest in the league. His sack total dipped to six last year after he had 9.5 over the previous season. The Patriots are betting Judon, who turns 29 this summer, can flip between inside and outside linebacker seamlessly, like Dont’a Hightower and the other hybrid linebackers before him in the 6-foot-3, 260pound mold.
Having sharpened their pass rush with Judon, the Pats fortified their run defense by signing former Dolphins defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and Jets run-stopper Henry Anderson. The latter was released earlier this week and can play all across the D-line at 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds. Godchaux missed most of last season with a torn biceps, but projects as a starting nose tackle on early downs.
Offensively, former Raiders wide receiver Nelson Agholor made a splash with his two-year deal worth up to $26 million. He revived his career last season in Las Vegas, where he grew into a reliable deep threat with six touchdowns of 20 yards or more. Agholor has long been plagued by drops — including nine last season — but boasts the type of position versatility and quickness the Pats covet.
If he carries his deep speed with him from Vegas, the Patriots have themselves a talented No. 2 wide receiver.
Opposite Agholor is another ascending young wideout in one-time 49er Kendrick Bourne. The lanky 6-foot-1 wideout developed into a reliable contributor in San Francisco after going undrafted in 2017. He caught 49 passes for 667 yards last season, both career highs. Bourne’s yards per target average has risen every year of his career, an encouraging sign.
He should round out the Pats’ new starting receiving corps with Agholor and Jakobi Meyers.
Defensively, the Pats padded their safety depth by adding Jalen Mills, formerly a Swiss Army Knife with the Eagles. Mills played more more than 100 snaps as a deep safety, box safety, outside corner and slot corner last season in Philadelphia after several years of disappointing corner play. He’s described as a tough, solid DB.
And the day wasn’t done without adding a few old faces. Patriots defensive linemen Deatrich Wise and Carl Davis were also retained, according to a league source. Terms of their contracts were not disclosed.