Mike Vrabel has taken his first season as head coach of the New England Patriots all the way to the Super Bowl, and that’s a beautiful thing. But the head coach who’s talked a ton about building a program in Foxboro this season will have little time to spare after next week’s showdown with the Seattle Seahawks.
Regardless of the embarrassing “luck” narratives being pushed by the national media, the Patriots have won 17 games this year (and counting) and are firmly back among the NFL’s elite. The expectations among the fan base will be back to an 11 out of 10 in 2026, no matter what happens in Santa Clara on Feb. 8.
It’s all playing out exactly how Vrabel envisioned, albeit, probably a year or two early. And after turning over more than 40 percent of the roster during his first offseason, the Patriots figure to be active again in 2026 to continue building this thing in Vrabel’s vision.
That puts free agency, which opens about a month after Super Bowl LX, firmly on the Patriots’ radar. The team currently has a projected $34 million in salary cap space for the new league year, per Spotrac, and is set to pick at the end of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The Patriots’ roster is solid across the board in terms of starters. What the team lacks is depth, and they should have a lot more options this spring as veterans look to come to New England to play with Drake Maye.
Vrabel and company are obviously going to need more than $34 million in cap space. The good news? They have four simple levers to pull that would more than double that number — without releasing a single player.
How the Patriots could reshape their roster without a single release
DE Milton Williams, restructure
2026 salary cap savings: $13.4 million
Did the Patriots overpay for Williams last March when they outbid the Carolina Panthers and signed him to a four-year, $104 million contract? Definitely. Williams has been worth every penny and more, though, during New England’s 2025 surge.
Williams’ cap hit is a team-high $29 million in 2026. A restructure would give one of the Patriots’ best players some cash up front, while lowering his cap number by 46 percent, per Over the Cap. This one feels like a win-win.
CB Carlton Davis, extension
2026 salary cap savings: $11.1 million
Yes, Davis has been among the most heavily penalized defensive backs in football this season. He’s also been among the team’s most underrated veterans as a former Super Bowl champion with Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Davis has been in the league eight years, but he just turned 29 on New Year’s Eve. The Patriots could look to extend him this offseason, which would lower his hefty salary cap hit of $22 million.
RG Mike Onwenu, extension
2026 salary cap savings: $12.2 million
We’ve barely heard Onwenu’s name this season — and that’s the greatest complement you can give to an offensive lineman.
Onwenu has quietly been New England’s best offensive lineman, and he’s entering a contract year in 2026. The Patriots wouldn’t be playing in the Super Bowl if not for the play of the right side of their offensive line, and Onwenu has been the anchor. The team could look to extend a 28-year-old player who’s earned it, while cutting his $25 million cap hit in half.
WR Stefon Diggs, extension
2026 salary cap savings: $15.6 million
The Patriots’ biggest 2025 gamble has paid off in a major way. Diggs’ value both on the field and in the locker room can’t be quantified. He loves playing for Vrabel, and Vrabel loves coaching him.
His contract figures to be adjusted this offseason. The Patriots front-loaded his three-year deal, leaving only $6 million in guarantees for 2026 and beyond. He’s about to enter his age 33 season, so there’s definitely some risk here, but an extension would give Diggs some added guarantees in his deal, allow him to retire as a Patriot, and also free up a whopping $15-plus million in 2026 cap space.
Total potential savings without cutting a player: $48.1 million
Will the Patriots pull all four of these levers after the Super Bowl? Probably not, but it helps illustrate how the team can still be active in 2026 free agency, even after committing over $360 million during Vrabel’s first offseason. They obviously have other contract maneuvers to explore, as well, but these four could all clear $10-plus million in space each.
New England could soon be Super Bowl champions — again — but the building won’t stop in Year 2 of the Vrabel era.