Roster could get further boost before draft

What’s next for the Patriots in free agency? Just how far away is this roster from the playoffs? And can they make some trades to “weaponize” the offense? That and more in this week’s mailbag.

In your opinion, what free agent business is left to do for the Patriots?

— Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y

Plenty. I understand the urgency that some people feel around the first week of the free agent process, but team-building is a yearround activity. They can add complementary players. I thought the K.J. Osborn signing was a good one. I’d love to see them add another veteran or two on either side of the ball, including Stephon Gilmore.

Now that we’re through many of the big moves and signings of free agency, it’s clear that the Patriots have not yet weaponized the offense. Will trades be the only way to add premier players? Seems like Tee Higgins is the best/only option. What do you think it’ll take to get him?

— Aaron, via email

The Patriots can certainly make some moves on the trade market if they want to add to their roster. From this standpoint, a deal for Higgins is completely feasible, provided you would be willing to part with the No. 34 pick. That could change between now and draft weekend, but it’s certainly one very real possibility.

For the record, some of the best additions the Patriots have made in recent history didn’t happen in the first week of free agency. Rodney Harrison signed two weeks after free agency began in 2003. Rob Ninkovich was inked to a deal in August 2009.

In addition, it’s important to recall the Patriots traded for Wes Welker a few days into free agency in 2007, they dealt for LeGarrette Blount and Randy Moss on draft weekends, and they added Ted Washington in August 2003.

Granted, these are the greatest hits, but it all goes into the fact that roster construction doesn’t stop just because the first week of free agency is done.

Mac Jones says parting with the Patriots is mutual. Is he kidding me? They traded him as a former first-round pick for a sixth-round pick. Unfortunately, his success in college football didn’t transfer to the NFL. Granted, he wasn’t given the best supporting cast around him, but if they couldn’t find a trade partner, they probably would have released him.

— Manny F., via email

This was a case of Mac putting the best face on things that he could. He certainly looked happy enough to go home to Jacksonville, even joking that it’s great when you can have your mom pick you up after work.

Unless something goes horribly wrong with the Jaguars — Trevor Lawrence is injured, for example — it’s unlikely he’ll start for Jacksonville. But it gives him a break. He’s going to get a chance to reset his career and head back onto the market in 2025 as a free agent.

Since it appears that the Pats will pick a quarterback at No. 3, with so much money riding on the decision, what steps specifically will the team take to find the right player? How do they avoid adding to the list of high draft picks at quarterback who have flamed out, despite remarkable hype?

— Patrick Halley, Bartow, Fla. (via Hudson)

Short answer? You never really know for sure. But as a team, you do everything you can do to assess their abilities. There are those conversations with scouts and coaches, as well as game film. There are the brief interviews at the combine as well.

One of the things that Jerod Mayo has talked about is the value in the on-site visits that take place between the combine and the draft. Each team gets to host up to 30 draft-eligible players at their facility prior to the draft. You get the prospect in your building with the goal of really finding out what sort of fit they’d be.

I’d expect some of those names — specifically quarterbacks — to start leaking out in the next few weeks.

It looks like the Patriots are going to gamble on a quarterback with the third pick. All they need to do is read a recent NFL notes column — it mentions many quarterbacks, including Sam Darnold (third overall in 2018), Jameis Winston (first overall in 2015), Bryce Young (first overall in

2023), Drew Lock (second round in 2019), Daniel Jones (sixth overall in 2019). The Pats need too much. Trade that pick. They can still get a quarterback later that is just as likely to be a cornerstone player.

— Joseph Ferris, via email

No argument that the Patriots need a lot, but a team that needs a signal-caller getting a top-three pick in what is expected to be a quarterback-rich draft is a rare occurrence. I’d hold on to the pick unless someone completely bowled me over.

In the wake of the Vikings trade, there was some talk over the weekend about the possibility of New England flipping the third overall pick to Minnesota for Nos. 11 and 23. Not enough. Unless the Vikings added a sweetener to the deal, I’d turn that one down.