The New England Patriots have had an inauspicious half-decade since the end of the Tom Brady era. The Patriots have been under .500 in four of the past five seasons, including a futile record of 8-26 over the past two seasons (only the Panthers are worse during that span). In spite of their recent struggles, there are signs that the bad times in Foxborough might be coming to an end in the near future.
The Patriots Have Had An Impactful Offseason
The Patriots have had one of the best offseasons of any team in the NFL. They started off by hiring arguably the most sought-after candidate of this year’s head coach hiring cycle, Mike Vrabel. Vrabel is one of the most accomplished Bill Belichick disciples, making him an ideal candidate to lead the Patriots into their new era.
After filling their vacancy at head coach, New England proved to be one of the most aggressive teams in the league once free agency began. Of course, this was not surprising seeing how they led the entire NFL in cap space going into the offseason.
The Patriots ended up signing impact players at many different positions, including DT Milton Williams, OT Morgan Moses, CB Carlton Davis, EDGE Harold Landry, OLB Robert Spillane, WR Mack Hollins, and more. After that, New England made arguably their splashiest signing by adding four-time Pro Bowl WR Stefon Diggs. Even at 31 years old, Diggs remains a high-end receiver in the NFL. At the time of his season-ending ACL injury last season, Diggs had 47 receptions for 496 yards, and 3 touchdowns in just eight games played.
New England Should Benefit From A Weakened AFC East
Barring something drastic, the Buffalo Bills will win the AFC East for sixth consecutive season in 2025. However, the rest of the division is an uncertain, dysfunctional mess, leaving the Patriots with a fairly foreseeable path to respectability in the upcoming campaign. The New York Jets, who currently own the longest active playoff drought in professional sports (14 seasons), appear primed for yet another rebuilding period, while the once promising Miami Dolphins have now seen their roster get worse for the second straight offseason.
Despite having a second-year quarterback and a heavily changed roster, there is no reason why the Patriots can’t finish second in their division. I’ll even go as far as to say that they can contend for a Wild Card spot in 2025. You could certainly make the argument that no team has improved as much so far this offseason as the Patriots have.
