10 realistic free agents the Patriots could sign in 2024
One of the biggest reasons this offseason will be highly anticipated and critically important is due to the amount of cap space the Patriots have to spend and the long list of incredible talent that will be available for them to sign. The team has desperately needed improvement, even before suffering their worst win/loss record in over two decades last season.
Now that Jerod Mayo is in charge, with presumed general manager Eliot Wolf, big changes are expected to be made regarding how the team approaches signing players. In years past, Bill Belichick was known for not wanting to overspend on any player, not even on a guy like Tom Brady.
It's a factor that frustrated many fans, and potentially even Robert Kraft, and seemingly led to many of the team's struggles over the last four seasons.
The offense suffered the most after watching the greatest quarterback of all time walk out the door just one season after Rob Gronkowski left. Just one year later, Julian Edelman retired, and the once-dominant offense has essentially been stuck in mediocre land since.
With a new head coach, staff, and philosophy ready to take on the 2024 season, the hope is they will make the right decisions and bring in the talent that will inch the Patriots closer to being a contender again.
It all starts with free agency, which begins on March 13, and there are at least ten free agents that could realistically become Patriots this offseason.
10 realistic free agents the Patriots could sign in 2024
1. Michael Pittman Jr.
The expected top receiver for the Patriots to pursue this offseason was Tee Higgins, a young receiver playing behind a WR1 in Cincinnati, looking to break out on his own somewhere new. But the Bengals made sure to prevent that by franchise-tagging him on Friday night, seemingly admitting their incompetence in reaching an agreement on an extension once again.
Now that Higgins is basically off the table for New England, they can pivot their focus to another talented receiver, Michael Pittman Jr.
The 26-year-old has had a bumpy start to his NFL career, mainly due to the Colts selecting him in the draft and failing to find a legitimate quarterback since Andrew Luck unexpectedly retired. Because of the revolving door of quarterbacks, we probably haven't seen the best Pittman can offer. But even with that in mind, he's been a consistently productive player on the dysfunctional offense in Indianapolis.
In 2023, he recorded the second 1,000-yard season of his career while taking on more responsibility as the WR1. He is set to hit free agency for the first time, and although the Colts likely don't want to see him leave the team, they will have some stiff competition from receiver-needy teams with plenty of cap space to spend, like the Patriots.
He would be a great addition to their offense that is in transition right now, and pairing him with Demario Douglas would make the job easier for whoever the next quarterback is.