The New England Patriots are gearing up for the 2024 season, but the road ahead looks challenging – and that’s putting it lightly.
As a matter of fact, many people expect the Patriots to be the worst team in the entire league. They have the lowest-expected win total as they transition to the Jerod Mayo era. (Imagine saying that a year ago?)
Despite their efforts to attract top-tier talent, the team has struggled to attract interested suitors. The allure of New England just isn’t what it used to be.
The recent unsuccessful attempt to lure 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is just one instance in a series of setbacks for Robert Kraft’s franchise.
Last year, the Patriots made competitive offers to both DeAndre Hopkins and Calvin Ridley, but both players opted to join other teams.
This difficulty in attracting star players points to a broader issue: the Patriots are no longer seen as a desirable destination for free agents.
Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports highlights this in a recent article, noting that the team’s image problem is a significant hurdle.
“While simply losing out on a talented player stings in itself, it also is the latest reminder of the bigger issue – the Patriots have an image problem,” Sullivan wrote.
“The franchise is entering Year 5 of the post-Tom Brady era and doesn’t have much to show for it. In that time, they’ve gone 29-38 and were below .500 in three of those four seasons.
“This year, they have an over/under win total of 4.5, which is the lowest in the NFL. In this ‘What have you done for me lately?’ league, that résumé isn’t going to endear any player worth his weight to jump aboard.”
The Patriots are caught in a difficult cycle: they need to convince prospective players that the organization is on the upswing, but actually improving the team’s performance is tough without first attracting high-quality talent.
There’s a feeling among some in the football world that Kraft and the Patriots are living in the past mentally – almost in denial of what they’ve become.
After all, Brady and Belichick are not walking through that door.
The years of the Patriots plucking Lombardi-hungry veterans on the cheap is a thing of the past. Kraft and company are facing an extremely long and borderline-impossible road to get back to that point.
Do you agree that the Patriots have an image problem???