Patriots: More salary cap space on the way means NE needs to make moves

The New England Patriots have more salary cap space on the way.

Remember when the New England Patriots had hardly over $1 million in salary cap space? Well, that seems like an eternity ago. They were always expected to get a boost with the start of a new NFL season, but the latest update regarding player opt-outs will also work in their favor.

The league informed teams this week that signing bonus distributions for players who are choosing not to play in 2020 will be removed from payrolls and will carry over to next season. As we know, the Patriots have watched eight players — with potentially more to come prior to Thursday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline — opt out thus far.

Per the latest calculations, this will equip New England with approximately $35.28 million for the upcoming campaign. In other words, the franchise is no longer cash-strapped and thereby has no excuse not to make a slew of moves to bolster their decimated roster.

We’re not saying that the Patriots should spend money just to spend money, especially since the salaries of players who opt out will be back on the books in 2021. However, their current depth chart just isn’t balanced enough to withstand the losses the roster has sustained over the last few months.

Signing three or four free agents that could help combat the losses of linebacker Dont’a Hightower, offensive lineman Marcus Cannon and safety Patrick Chung — all of whom were going to start and play heavy snaps this year — is simply a must.

As of Tuesday, the Patriots had 72 players on the roster and can practice as a full team during training camp with a total of 80 players, so fans should be expecting several roster transactions to be made before the first official practice next week. Anything else should be considered an extreme disappointment.