Bill Belichick and the Patriots did what never before in the current free agency, moving away from their roots of recruiting and developing players in the draft
FOXBOROUGH – Great tickets! What has been put in them Foxborough?
The head coach of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick, Was atypically active on Monday, the first day allowed to negotiate with free agents from other teams.
Between contracts reported with the closed wing of the Tennessee Titans, Jonnu Smith; external linebacker of the Baltimore Ravens, Matthew Judon; defensive tackle of the Miami Dolphins, Of which Godchaux; and defensive back of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jalen Mills; Belichick delivered $ 81 million in bonds and guarantees. And that was before pacting with open receivers Nelson Agholor i Kendrick Bourne and the defensive tackle Henry Anderson later in the day, and open Tuesday’s activity with a closed-wing agreement Hunter Henry.
In a reflection of how out of character this is all, let us consider this: the Patriots they spent $ 51 million on bonds and guarantees for free agents over the previous three combined seasons.
As for the sudden change, there are a couple of different ways to look at it.
It could be that Belichick is so motivated after watching the quarterback Tom Brady emigrate to earn one super Bowl in his first campaign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Which kicked off a Revenge Tour, 2021?
This one is fun, and maybe there is some competitive fire there, But it doesn’t really seem to stick to the target.
Another idea: Belichick is of results, and simply evaluated the staff that produced a 7-9 campaign –with the Patriots staying out of the playoffs for the first time in 12 years– and she realized she wasn’t very good. So, no matter how much I wanted to recruit in the draft, develop and re-hire players, especially in the closed-wing position and open receiver to assist in an attack that ranked No. 30 in yards per pass, this was not an option. The same with the defensive tackle position, to help slow down the race.
All of this makes a lot of sense, but nonetheless, it doesn’t tell the full story.
What most directly generated this aggressive strategy, according to those familiar with it, is the perception that the 2021 seasonal recess was a rare opportunity due to the fall in the wage cap at the NFL.
Remember, the salary cap fell to $ 182,500,000 this year. It was at $ 198.2 billion during 2020, so this year marked the first drop since the 2011 collective bargaining agreement.
As a result, it has reduced the number of teams against which Patriots they compete for free agents, because many organizations are rushed just to accommodate them below the salary cap. This sweetened the number of players available, generating that several free agents at the best time of their careers, will be available in a year in which otherwise they would not be in the open market; we consider that Smith i Bourne have 25, b, Godchaux i Molins they have 26, Agholor has 27 i Judon 28.
So, with plenty of space under the salary cap to work, and knowing that the cap will grow in the years to come for the league’s television contracts to come, Belichick and the Patriots went shopping like never before.
In the perfect world of Patriots, Have capitalized on an unprecedented market situation to dramatically improve their team.
In the worst case scenario, they have thought too much, moved too far away from their roots to recruit and develop, committing too much to outside players, and in the end will pay a price similar to that of other teams that have also “won “free agency last March.
For now, there is enough optimism in One Patriot Place, Where you might need a new parking space for the armored truck to welcome the additions of New England.