Bill Belichick says Patriots are preserving cap space for 2021 offseason
By Jerry Trotta
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick says the organization is preserving salary cap space for next offseason.
At this point in the season it’s abundantly clear that the New England Patriots’ roster, as presently constructed, is nowhere close to a championship contender. Now, could head coach Bill Belichick rally the group to make a late push for the playoffs? No doubt.
But we all know that barely sneaking into the postseason only to get obliterated in the first round isn’t why Belichick has arrived at the crack of dawn for both OTAs and training camp for the last two decades.
What we’re trying to say is that rival fans shouldn’t expect the Patriots to be down for too long, because Belichick is a born winner and always has several tricks up his sweatshirt sleeves. Well, during his latest press conference he just so happened to reveal one of his tactics to help morph the six-time champions back into a contender as soon as 2021.
Per Belichick himself, the Patriots are striving to preserve their salary cap space so that it carries over into next offseason when the cap will be lowered due to the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to cost the NFL an untold quantity of revenue.
Belichick was asked by @McKennAnalysis if the Patriots are looking to preserve their cap space to carry over into next season when the cap is being lowered.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) November 3, 2020
"That's definitely an accurate perspective you've identified."
Reports suggest that the 2021 salary cap floor will be set at approximately $175 million, which is markedly lower compared to the projected floor before COVID-19 swept the country ($210 million) back in March.
Heading into this season, the Patriots had barely any cap space, which was the reason Cam Newton signed a $1 million contract. But then came the eight player opt-outs, which freed up a ton of space, in addition to a couple of salary settlements with Antonio Brown and Aaron Hernandez’s estate.
Per Spotrac, the Patriots are currently projected to have the fourth-most cap space in the NFL next year at a staggering $70.46 million. On top of that, nine teams are projected to be over the cap, and that number increases to 13 when you take into account teams with fewer than $6 million in projected funds.
It sounds like the Patriots are interesting in preserving their position of power for free agency in 2021. New England has plenty of cap space when about 10 teams are projected to be OVER the cap. That could make for a quicker rebuild... https://t.co/pNIWivIDij https://t.co/QN2dAUzMce
— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) November 3, 2020
That means close to half of the league will be out of the running to make major signings and only three organizations — Jacksonville, New York (Jets) and Indianapolis — will have more flexibility than the Patriots next offseason.
Fans in New England have grown accustomed to rooting for a Super Bowl favorite over the last 20 years, but they should be able to withstand one year of mediocrity so that Belichick can reset the cap and make extensive upgrades across the roster heading into 2021.
It’s definitely something to get excited about.
