Patriots: JJ Watt choosing Cardinals to win Super Bowl shows changing times

The New England Patriots are facing tremendous pressure to get back into the playoffs next season after they endured their worst campaign by all metrics in two decades.

We would all agree that free agency will serve as a tremendous opportunity for them to add reinforcements to their middling roster, right?

Well, flaunting the third-most cap space of any team in the league ($68.78 million) means absolutely nothing if you’re unable to attract any of the biggest names on the open market.

There were concerns heading into the offseason that the Patriots could have trouble luring star free agents, and Monday’s action didn’t exactly extinguish those worries.

In-demand edge rusher JJ Watt’s shocking decision to sign with the Cardinals on a two-year, $31 million deal ($23 million guaranteed) further proves that the times have changed.

We’re not saying fans should hit the panic button just yet, as there will be dozens of free agents who will prioritize money over competing for a championship.

However, the fact that Watt chose Arizona (!) over the Patriots speaks volumes to their decline since Tom Brady left last offseason.

JJ Watt choosing to pursue a Super Bowl with the Cardinals over the Patriots confirms that times have changed.

It remains to be seen if the Patriots had any interest in signing Watt, but it never appeared that he even considered them as a potential destination following his release from the Texans.

When you consider that New England could’ve afforded to pay him $15.5 million annually with enough money left over to address at least two other positions of need (like wide receiver and linebacker), that’s a massive indictment with regard to how free agents view them now.

It’s not like the Cardinals were on the doorstep of a championship last season, either. After being widely predicted to challenge for the NFC crown after quarterback Kyler Murray’s stellar rookie year, they stumbled to an 8-8 record and didn’t even end up making the playoffs.

For all their problems — like leading the league with eight player opt outs, Cam Newton testing positive for COVID-19 just as he was establishing a rhythm under center and countless injuries to key players — that’s just one win more than what the Patriots managed in 2020, by the way.

If this were two or three years ago, free agents would’ve been lining up to take discounts with the Patriots because they were in the Super Bowl seemingly every other year. While this obviously isn’t entirely a knock-on effect from Brady’s departure, you’d be hard-pressed to deny that it wasn’t at least in the back of Watt’s mind during his decision-making process.

The Patriots can no doubt return to relevancy (and even sovereignty) without Brady, but they won’t be able to do so if they can’t add elite talent. While they’re poised to wade in the pool this offseason given their cap situation, stars will always look to sign with contenders first and foremost.

And if you take one look at New England’s current roster, they’re at least several moves away from entering that conversation. The days of Darrelle Revis dictating his way to New England are long over.