It has been a while since the Patriots were a team that could steal free agents from other teams who might be in a better position, whether competitively or financially. For much of the last two decades, no one could compete with them at a winning level, which made it easy to sign the talent they needed.
Financially, however, it wasn't necessarily the case, mostly because Bill Belichick didn't like to hand out big contracts to anyone, not even the greatest quarterback of all time. The franchise is in a different spot now, though, and the new regime has shown its willingness to pay up to get the talent they want, with one example being stealing Milton Williams from the Panthers at the last second in 2025.
The defensive tackle was about to sign a contract with Carolina until New England came in and offered him the kind of money he couldn't refuse, which allowed him to step away and come to Foxboro. They certainly lucked out with that signing, as Williams has already become an anchor of their defense.
And now it seems like the Patriots could have done something similar at another position of need: linebacker. They reportedly had interest in former Eagles' star Jaelan Phillips, only to see him sign with the Panthers instead.
And based on his first comments to the media, it sounds like the Patriots had a shot to steal another one from the NFC South team this offseason.
Jaelan Phillips was steered to the Panthers over remaining with the Eagles for one reason
During a recent appearance on Good Morning Football, Phillips revealed the Eagles wanted him to return for another season. But the Panthers made a much more lucrative offer he couldn't refuse, and he took it as a sign they believed in him more than his former team did.
Whether that's what it meant or whether the Panthers knew they didn't have much leverage to get a superstar like Phillips through the door, other than money, we don't know. But it does prove that the Patriots could have struck up a deal with him, too, had they taken the same approach they used last year with Williams.
Maybe they weren't as in on Phillips as many analysts and fans were, and that's why we didn't hear much about them making an offer.
But it would have been fun to see another player stolen from a team just hoping to get back on the map, similar to where the Patriots were after Tom Brady left. Fortunately, those times appear to be in the past now.
With Phillips off the board, the Patriots still need to find some help at the linebacker position, and their choices are dwindling. There are still a few options that would make sense and impact the defense, but they might decide to target that position in the draft instead.