This is not breaking news, but the New England Patriots did not exactly have the same level of success in 2023 that Patriots fans have become accustomed to. Because of that, and a couple of previous seasons where the team was trending downward, Bill Belichick lost his job. Thankfully, Jerod Mayo has taken Belichick's place so the culture of the team should remain the same.
That means New England should continue to have a very good defense and to get better, they only need to greatly improve the offense. This is highly doable this offseason, however. The Patriots have a high first-round draft pick and about $70 million in cap room to spend.
In fact, no team is better positioned this offseason to make take their team from a bad one to potentially a playoff team in 2024. While the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills are good, they are not so great that the Patriots are seasons away from catching them. Here are four things New England can do to get good quickly.
Sign Kirk Cousins in free agency and draft a quarterback
I can hear you. Why would the Patriots sign a quarterback when they can simply draft one? Well, why would the Green Bay Packers draft Jordan Love when they still had Aaron Rodgers? Sure, Rodgers was already on the Packers when Green Bay took Love, but Cousins isn't going to be the long-term quarterback, either. New England should sign him to two years, with the first year carrying most of the cap baggage, and then see how things go.
Cousins will be 36 years old in Week 1 of 2024 and coming off an Achilles injury that ended his 2023 season after just eight games. Maybe teams won't want to give him high dollars to entice him to come sign with them, but the great thing is that the Patriots have the third-most cap room in the NFL this offseason so no team that needs a quarterback could likely get into a bidding war with New England anyway.
Cousins would definitely make the Patriots much better and potentially playoff-bound next year as long as the team finds a receiver or three and the defense continues to do well. But signing Cousins also means whoever New England takes in the first round, if they do choose a quarterback, won't be forced into live action right away. Signing Cousins makes the team better next year and well beyond, whether he is on the team or not in three years.
Sign receiver Tee Higgins in free agency
The Patriots will grab a quarterback somehow (one would hope), so whether New England brings in someone like Cousins or a rookie, they need someone to throw to. Perhaps a best case for 2024 alone would be for the Patriots to sign both Tee Higgins and Kirk Cousins and draft Marvin Harrison, Jr. New England's pass offense quickly becomes elite as long as the blocking holds up.
Higgins is the kind of physical receiver with excellent speed who can make a decent quarterback even better. His ability to high-point the ball is as good as anyone in the league. His numbers would have been even better had he not played on a Cincinnati Bengals team with another fantastic receiver and, a couple of good ones.
The only potential concern with Higgins is paying him $20-plus million a year and him not being available for every game. He missed three games in 2021, and he missed five in 2023. This season, he had to play quite a bit without quarterback Joe Burrow, and while Higgins had a career-high in yards per catch (15.6), he had his lowest catch rate (55.3 percent) and fewest receiving yards per game (54.7).
I have to admit that I say that last bit in hopes that some NFL team interested in Higgins will read it and not want to pay him what he is worth. But the truth is, Higgins would have been a No. 1 receiver on most teams in the last three years and would help transform the struggling Patriots offense. Unless the Bengals rudely put the franchise tag on Higgins, of course.
Sign guard Kevin Dotson in free agency
New England now has a receiver and a quarterback; they need to add to that with some help along the interior of the offensive line. (Likely, the entire offensive line.) Dotson has proven adaptable to whatever the offensive blocking scheme is and turned his newfound knowledge into high-end success. He began his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was very good in pass protection but not as good in blocking for the run.
That changed in 2023 after the Los Angeles Rams acquired Dotson. The Rams went to a heavy gap block scheme, and while Dotson was still very good against the pass, he became an elite run blocker. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Dotson was not only the second-highest-rated guard in the NFL this year but also third-best in terms of run blocking.
Dotson allowed just four sacks, though, and 20 total pressures. Except for one bad game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14, Dotson gave up just 14 pressures and four quarterback hits. Dotson is a true right guard who is only 27 years old and should have at least four years left to play at an elite level.
PFF projects Dotson to sign for four years at $17.25 million guaranteed. Do the Patriots have enough space to sign Cousins, Higgins, and Dotson? Probably not, but they are at least set up better than most teams to have a chance at that. Plus, with those three players added, the Patriots should be one of the most improved teams in the NFL.
Sign edge rusher Leonard Floyd in free agency
Now that the offense has been fixed, we just need some toys for the Patriots defense. New England's defense kept the team in far too many games this season, and the unit just needs a little help to get the Patriots back to being a playoff team. Plus, New England will get Matt Judon back in 2024 after he was lost far too early in 2023 with a biceps injury. One of the few weaknesses on the Patriots' defense was the pass rush, and Judon alone should help fix that.
Adding Floyd, who will be 32 years old at the start of 2024, does two things. One, Floyd will enhance the Patriots pass rush. Two, New England will steal the edge rusher from the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills. Floyd has had at least nine sacks in each of the last four seasons, but he had 10.5 for Buffalo this year.
Floyd is not great against the run, but he is also a bit underrated there. Still, Floyd will likely be a much better fit on obvious passing downs, and he and Judon can form formidable bookends where offenses would have to guess at which one to double-team. According to Pro Football Focus, Floyd won't be overly expensive either. PFF has Floyd signing just a one-year deal for $6 million. The Patriots can easily afford that.
Will all the moves mentioned help make the Patriots much better in 2024? Definitely, and unlike most teams, New England has the draft capital and cap room to make it happen.