Coming off a 4-13 season, the New England Patriots entered the offseason among the NFL’s leaders in available salary cap space. Paired with a much-publicized statement about the team being “ready to burn some cash” from head coach Jerod Mayo — one he would later walk back from — expectations were high for the team entering free agency.
The Patriots had the cash and also appeared to have the willingness to start their rebuild with a bang. But while they did end up signing nine external players, there were no splashes of any kind.
Instead, the Patriots focused on keeping their internal talent in the fold as part of an apparent draft-and-develop strategy.