Going into free agency, the New England Patriots had $30 million to spend in free cap space, but they started out slow – waiting out free agency, and watching players like quarterback Jimmy Garropolo sign the Las Vegas Raiders as well as Aaron Rodgers commit to playing for the New York Jets, and DJ Moore get traded to the Chicago Bears along with a bevy of picks for the number-one overall pick.
Regardless, the Patriots stayed quiet and let things play out. They let pieces like wide receiver Jakobi Meyers go in free agency – signing a three-year deal with Josh McDaniels’ Raiders and didn’t blink an eye – and traded tight-end Jonnu Smith to the Atlanta Falcons for a seventh-round pick, also without blinking an eye.
This past week though, has proved that theory wrong after a flurry of free agency signings – some are depth pieces and re-signings, but others could make a bigger impact than some experts care to say this early in the offseason.
Here’s who they have signed, the potential meaning behind each signing, and how it will effect the team going into next season.
Re-signings: Joe Cardona (LS), Carl Davis Jr. (DT), Mack Wilson Sr. (LB), Raekwon McMillan (LB), Daniel Ekuale (DT), Jonathan Jones (CB), James Ferentz (G), Jabrill Peppers (SS)
If you told me this was all they did in the offseason, I would still be surprised, but they also added some new players on top of it. The only one I was not surprised by on this list was Cardona. Rarely will you find a long-snapper in the draft (undrafted or otherwise) that was as accurate, hard-working, and willing to commit to a team like he would.
Davis, Wilson, Ekuale, and McMillan could have easily gone elsewhere – especially after the way the defense kept the Patriots in games throughout the past season, combining for over 44 tackles between the three of them alone – not to mention 41 between McMillan and Wilson alone, in addition to 13 between Ekuale and Davis.
Ferentz, however, looked as if he signed without much of a market. After playing second fiddle to David Andrews the past season, Ferentz looks poised to play the same role, if not a back-up guard. While depth like is definitely good to have on any football team, Ferentz was almost a no-brainer to sign, much like Cardona.
The two that were the most surprising, and I think most fans did not expect to see back were Peppers and Jones. With the retirement of Devin McCourty being announced earlier in the week, New England needed to shore up its secondary either through the draft or free agency market.
While they could still draft a secondary piece the 14th-overall pick such as Penn State’s Ji’Ayir Brown, the signing Peppers and Jones keeps the needs at a minimum at best.
What It All Means, How It Will Effect The Team:
Now, with all these signings there’s a lot to address, but the first thing is the meaning. What it means is that the defense will remain largely the same as last season, except for when guys were hurt or sitting out, they were strong.
However, as of Friday morning Adam Schefter reported that the team will be releasing cornerback Jalen Mills. This may have changed with the signing of Jones, but outside of this all of the signings above will keep the morale steady as most of the regulars will be back, and are committed to being back.
It also shows that the team is willing to go out, keep the team just about as strong as it was before, and play to their strengths on the defensive side of the ball.
The downside to the defense remaining the same is that there has not been much improvement from the weaknesses that were exposed at times by players like Stefon Diggs, Justin Jefferson, or Tyreek Hill, but maybe that’s what the draft is for this season. Nothing is known right now, as this is just where it all begins.
New Players: JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR), James Robinson (RB), Mike Gesicki (TE), Calvin Anderson (OT), Riley Reiff (OT)
While the list of new additions is much shorter than the re-signed players, they appear to be – on paper at least – more notable, especially with the signings of Smith-Schuster and Gesicki.
Smith-Schuster, a long time nemesis of New England who had a history of consistently torching their secondary for an average of 14.5 yards per catch throughout his NFL career – including a game where he collected six catches, for a 114 yards.
Gesicki, also a long-time nemesis of New England, averaged 13.9 (lets call it 14) yards per catch against them – including a touchdown pass back in 2019 that famously knocked the Patriots out of the race for the top-seed and forcing them to play in the Wild-Card Round. The former second-round pick out of Penn State will give the Patriots a more dynamic attack in the air, and form a good one-two punch with fellow tight end Hunter Henry.
Robinson was interesting signing, and one that surprised. With Damien Harris testing the free agency waters, New England was poised to either do everything in their power to keep him as an RB2 to Rhamondre Stevenson or to find someone to fill the role from the outside either through the draft, or otherwise – they wound up doing the latter by signing the aforementioned Robinson.
Robinson is a fast back with ability to both catch the ball and run the ball. His first two seasons in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he rushed 404 times for 1,837 yards and 15 touchdowns. In addition to this, he also caught 80 passes for 566 yards and three touchdowns. Look for him to trade carries pretty evenly with Stevenson.
As for the other signings of Anderson and Reiff, those ones are surprising, but not unwarranted. In years’ past, head coach Bill Belichick has gone to the draft to find offensive line pieces such as Cole Strange in 2022, Michael Onwenu in 2020, and Isaiah Wynn in 2018.
Some of them were better draft picks than others, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that he is trying to go outside to find a veteran presence for the O-Line, but it may come as a surprise to some the Belichick is going outside of his usual tactics.
What It All Means, How It Will Effect The Team
Looking at the offensive signings, it could mean a variety of things. It could mean they’re willing to part with fan favorites, it could mean they want to spend money, but the first thing that is apparent from looking at the signings of Smith-Schuster, Gesicki and Robinson is that the Patriots are not ones to dwell on the past and are ready to invest in the now.
Coming off a Super Bowl-winning season with the Kansas City Chiefs, Smith-Schuster and the Patriots are hoping the six-year veteran can bring the intensity he brought in KC. While he won’t be looked at as a clear-cut WR1 with DeVante Parker leading that group, he’ll bring a veteran presence to in the slot and give quarterback Mac Jones (or Bailey Zappe) an additional target to throw to.
Watch for Smith-Schuster to run routes similar to a tough slot receiver like Troy Brown or Danny Amendola, but leave the more speed-oriented routes like Julian Edelman to be run by Kendrick Bourne or Nelson Agholor (if either are to stay).
Speaking of targets to throw to, Gesicki looks to be an alternate target to Henry when he’s pass-blocking or when “new” offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien wants to run two tight-end sets. Don’t be surprised if it’s reversed at the same time.
Since both are such excellent pass catchers, it may detract from the others ability to get targets for the other; however, given the ability to catch the ball it projects to be a year similar to when New England had both Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Both were athletic tight ends who were not afraid to block when needed, but also go out and catch the ball.
Robinson’s signing comes as somewhat of a surprise, but given the injury history to Harris, the inconsistency of J.J. Taylor, and the inexperience of Pierre Strong III, and Kevin Harris, this signing makes sense.
While Robinson could play the role of a James White-type in this offense, and they could still sign Harris to play “backup”, it’s unlikely given where he was drafted (33rd-overall) that he would take that type of role. Then again, I was wrong about O’Brien coming back, so anything could happen.
Anderson and Reiff were signed with a specific purpose it seems like: to protect the quarterback, which New England quickly identified as a clear-cut need following last season.
Both are veterans at tackle, and have experience protecting mobile quarterbacks (Justin Fields for Reiff in Chicago, and Russell Wilson in Denver for Anderson) which begs the question: are the Patriots settled on Jones at quarterback? This reporter says no, but it could also just mean they were looking for more solid lineman who can protecting faster rushers, and can adapt in a flash to situation.
Free agency has just begun, and New England has started with a flurry of moves and are rumored to be in on other wideouts like DeAndre Hopkins, Jerry Jeudy, and Odell Beckham Jr. More moves to come? Maybe on both sides of the ball? We have yet to see…
The Northeast Regional Sports Journal 
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