INDIANAPOLIS – The New England Patriots are back atop the NFL … insomuch as they’re set to have significantly more spending power than any other team in the league when free agency kicks off next week.
“We’re going to do what we think is best. We have to do what’s necessary. So last year, we didn’t do enough of what was necessary. This year, we have to do what’s necessary to improve the team,” Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said at the scouting combine last week.
Projected to have – by far – a league-high $127 million to dole out, the Pats are in prime position to take a deep dive into the veteran acquisition pool. No other team is even within $30 million of New England, which can begin recruiting unsigned veterans Monday. However, free agents can’t begin signing with new teams until 4 p.m. ET on March 12, the start of the new league year.
“I mean, we took some swings,” Wolf said, referencing his approach last year, his first leading the front office following the departure of longtime coach (and personnel czar) Bill Belichick.
“(T)aking swings ultimately, isn’t good enough. We went 4-13. We have to have results. And so, you know, we took some swings at some of those guys and came up short. And that’s not an excuse. That’s just what happened. So we need to continue to improve the roster, whether they’re weapons, whether it’s the line, whether it’s the defense, just in all phases.”
Here’s a ranking of 11 teams, from least to most, poised to make significant splashes this offseason (salary cap projections courtesy of Over The Cap):
11. San Francisco 49ers
They’ve already agreed to trade WR Deebo Samuel. They’ve taken calls on WR Brandon Aiyuk. They’re working on a long-awaited extension for QB Brock Purdy, who’s newly eligible for it. And that might just be the start. Though GM John Lynch only has $33.8 million to spend at present, he is scheduled to have at least 12 picks in the draft – the kind of bounty that can help open other doors for a team that’s come up just short of its sixth Super Bowl victory so many times in recent years.
10. Washington Commanders
The trade for Samuel is all but official, and GM Adam Peters has $64 million to play with to bolster the roster around transcendent Jayden Daniels – perhaps the greatest freshman quarterback ever on the heels of his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign, which extended all the way to the NFC championship game. However, Peters is light on the draft front, Washington lacking picks in Rounds 4 and 5.
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9. Cleveland Browns
They don’t figure to be major players in free agency, though did become cap compliant Thursday by restructuring Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed deal. Again. The injured quarterback’s specter will likely hover over this organization for at least one more year – mostly meaning the remainder of his regrettable contract given multiple Achilles surgeries mean the highly unpopular player (with fans, anyway) may have taken his final snap for Cleveland. Still, possessing the No. 2 pick of the draft among their dozen selections means the Browns will either have the ability to shake it up or shake up their roster – especially if they tab Watson’s replacement.
But their real trump card is DE Myles Garrett. The club’s brain trust is currently denying the four-time All-Pro’s request to leave Cleveland. But if EVP/GM Andrew Berry capitulates, which would likely occur closer to the draft if it ever does, then Garrett would almost certainly be the biggest name on the move this offseason – which would doubtless mean a hugely substantial haul for a franchise that could use it.
8. Philadelphia Eagles
Hardly content to rest on his Lombardi laurels, EVP/GM Howie Roseman has already been busy – sending the right message to his championship locker room by giving RB Saquon Barkley an early contractual raise before re-signing All-Pro Zack Baun. From a player acquisition standpoint, it doesn’t appear Roseman has a lot of ammo given he’ll mostly be drafting at the end of every round and doesn’t have even $22 million in his cap coffers. But few NFL executives are as aggressive, proactive or creative as Roseman … and there’s already a sense of dread in the league that he might be the one who can extract Garrett from Cleveland.
7. Los Angeles Chargers
What do they have cooking? A team that more than doubled its 2023 win total by going 11-6 in its first year under HC Jim Harbaugh now has more than $90 million in cap space following Wednesday evening’s release of Pro Bowl OLB Joey Bosa. The Bolts have more than enough capacity to extend LT Rashawn Slater while re-signing OLB Khalil Mack and RB J.K. Dobbins should they choose – and a lot more beyond that. GM Joe Hortiz comes from a draft-and-develop operation in Baltimore, but expect his new team to explore veteran options at wideout, defensive line and elsewhere.
6. Las Vegas Raiders
They arrived at a major decision Wednesday, making DE Maxx Crosby, currently the face of this franchise – Tom Brady mostly staying in the shadows – the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history with a three-year extension averaging $35.5 million annually. That will put a dent in the free agent war chest, which had been projected at $95 million, second only to the Patriots. Still, expect the Silver and Black to be active. The Raiders’ need for a quarterback has only grown following the release of Gardner Minshew II, yet they’re in position to buy one (Sam Darnold? Aaron Rodgers?) or draft one – holding four of the top 73 slots, including sixth overall, allowing for significant flexibility to potentially target Cam Ward of Miami (Fla.) or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
5. Dallas Cowboys
A year ago, owner Jerry Jones vowed to be “all in” for his team after it had won 12 games in each of the three preceding regular seasons. But he decidedly wasn’t – effectively punting on free agency before paying top dollar to extend WR CeeDee Lamb and QB Dak Prescott after dragging his feet on those negotiations for months on end. But on the heels of a 7-10 season that resulted in the departure of HC Mike McCarthy, “America’s Team” seems to be taking a new approach in 2025. Tuesday, Dallas avoided using its franchise tag by extending DT Osa Odighizuwa (4 years, $80 million). Lamb and Prescott also restructured their deals to free up more cash, the Cowboys’ 2025 free agent budget ballooning to $54 million – which could be used to sign veterans, extend star LB Micah Parsons or a combination thereof. Dallas will also pick 12th in the first round and hasn’t drafted earlier than that since 2016, when former RB Ezekiel Elliott came aboard.
4. New York Giants
After they apparently pursued a trade for Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford, rampant rumors persist that a quarterback-starved franchise seeks to elevate from the third spot in the draft in order to ensure it gets a young replacement to build around after the Daniel Jones Experience was terminated early last season. The Giants are also scheduled to draft at the top of the second (34th overall) and third (65th) rounds, meaning they should get really good players … if they don’t have to part with one or both of those picks for, say, Ward. A free agency budget of nearly $47 million will also help embattled GM Joe Schoen and HC Brian Daboll, though some of that may be needed to enlist a veteran passer so a rookie doesn’t have to take the reins of a team that will likely be projected to finish last in the NFC East again, regardless of any roster improvements.
3. Chicago Bears
They’ve already bolstered the protection in front of sophomore (and oft-sacked) QB Caleb Williams, acquiring veteran Gs Joe Thuney, a two-time All-Pro, and former Pro Bowler Jonah Jackson for the fairly meager price of two Day 3 draft picks. GM Ryan Poles still has $50 million at his disposal and owns one final chip, a second-round pick, from the 2023 deal with the Panthers that sent Carolina the No. 1 overall pick that year. That means Chicago has three of the first 41 selections, including No. 10 overall, to continue building out this roster around Williams and for rookie HC Ben Johnson, whose hire has already sparked further optimism in the Windy City.
2. Tennessee Titans
When you occupy the top spot in the draft, then – to some degree – you control the draft. The Titans have signaled their desire to pick a “generational” talent – who doesn’t want that? – but don’t necessarily seem wed to making whomever that player is the No. 1 overall selection. If he can successfully incite a bidding war for a rookie quarterback, rookie GM Mike Borgonzi should be able to better jump-start his new employer’s needed overhaul. Doesn’t hurt to have $50 million in his cap pocket, either, and should be interesting to see how aggressive Borgonzi might be in the trade market after working with Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach for so many years.
1. New England Patriots
The ability to overpay for the free agents they’re targeting provides quite an advantage – and owner Robert Kraft is likely to provide that signoff given his desperation to be a contending organization again post-Brady. Newly hired Mike Vrabel, a former player who’s highly respected throughout the league and has already proven his coaching chops in Tennessee, could also be a nice lure – and he’s looking for a bit more horsepower on this roster, too.
“I like to shop like everybody else,” Vrabel said at the combine. “(M)aybe you have to pay a little bit more for that one car, because there’s only one of them.
‘(Y)ou may not have to overspend, but it’s free agency. I think that everybody overspends sometimes in free agency.”
The Patriots shouldn’t have to overspend in the draft unless they choose to. They own nine selections, including four of the top 77. And given they’re sitting at No. 4 overall but don’t need to take a quarterback, they’re in line to get a premium player or perhaps benefit from a QB-needy team eager to move into the top five. Regardless, Wolf and Vrabel appear very well situated to accelerate the rebuild around second-year QB Drake Maye, who needs upgraded weaponry and protection in the worst way.
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