There is zero reason the New England Patriots should not have an ultra-successful offseason in 2024. Few teams have as much cap room as New England - Spotrac currently projects for New England to have $75,462,636 to spend in 2024, third-most in the league - along with a top-five 2024 NFL Draft pick.
The Patriots can remake the team this coming offseason and be better in 2024 and for years beyond.
What goes without saying, however, is that New England has to be aggressive in free agency. The organization also needs to decide if they want to keep Bill Belichick around or not. Plus, maybe a new quarterback would help.
What follows are four free agents that New England needs to try to bring to Foxborough. Yes, they all play on one side of the ball. But it's the offense that is the biggest issue, right?
The Patriots need to go after tight end Noah Fant
Noah Fant has special skills that have never been put to full use. The Denver Broncos wasted him in his first three seasons due to bad offensive coaching and scheme. He hasn't produced much more for the Seattle Seahawks the last two seasons, either, but that is simply because he does not get the ball enough. There are few tight ends with the ability to catch and run as well as Fant, and in the right system, he can be explosive.
In 2023, Fant is averaging 13.1 yards a catch, the second-best number of his career, but he has only been targeted 37 times. And it isn't like he cannot catch because he has caught 73 percent of his targets this season and 70.8 percent for his career. He simply just needs the ball more. If the Patriots rebuild their offense as they should, they will add much in free agency, including a receiver and a running back, and that should allow Fant to get the ball more in New England.
I will get more into this in a minute, but no matter if Bailey Zappe or Mac Jones are starting at quarterback this year, they are both doomed. They have an offensive line with pieces being moved all around (and offensive lines need to build cohesion to be great, and New England has not had any stability this year), no weapons at receiver, and no very good options at running back. But by adding Fant and others in 2024, the team can get back to being good fairly quickly.
New England Patriots must sign receiver Tee Higgins
No matter who becomes the New England Patriots QB1 in 2024 is going to need a lot more help than what the Patriots were offering this year. Look at how much Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has relatively struggled (his 93.2 quarterback rating for 2023 is by far the lowest mark of his career).
He simply doesn't have as many weapons to throw the ball to this season. He's got Travis Kelce, and Rashee Rice has been a nice surprise, but KC isn't nearly as scary as they had been in previous seasons.
The Patriots have no one who scares defenses. New England would be somewhat better if Mahomes were with the Patriots, but they still wouldn't be good. A quarterback has to have several people to force the ball to at times, and New England doesn't have anyone. So, while chasing a free agent like the tall and athletic Higgins is a great start, that's all it is: A start.
Bill Belichick, assuming he is still the coach and general manager next year, cannot be trusted to draft well overall on offense and he doesn't seem to know how to scout receivers. Instead, with all the cap room New England has, the team should sign Higgins at $23 million or more and still go after another top receiver.
Money doesn't fix all issues, of course, but New England has to do something. At 6'4" and 220 pounds, Higgins knows how to use his length to high-point balls. His catch in Week 15 against the Minnesota Vikings to first catch the ball and then turn and score a touchdown might have changed the playoff fortunes of several teams this year. The Patriots need at least two receivers of the ilk of Tee Higgins, and New England needs to hope the Cincinnati Bengals do not franchise-tag him.
Patriots should chase running back Austin Ekeler
Ekeler makes sense for New England for too many reasons. He is kind of like Christian McCaffrey-lite in that he can is a fine running back, but he is also a spectacular receiver. Currently, the Patriots running back room consists of 87-year-old Ezekiel Elliott and a bunch of guys like me (hint: you will lose a lot of games because of that combination).
Ekeler also should not be overly expensive. The running back market is underpaid compared to most other positions recently, of course, but because Ekeler is a jack of all trades but a master of none, he isn't going to get $10 million a year. This works out well for New England because they would be adding a versatile player who can bail out the quarterback by catching passes out of the backfield while also averaging a solid 4-plus yards a carry.
In 2023, Ekeer is not having his best season. In fact, he is averaging a career-low in yards per carry (3.6, and his career average is 4.4), but he is still getting close to 10 yards per reception, which is more than solid. Historically, Ekeler has proven he has a nose for finding the end zone, too.
While he has just six total touchdowns this year, he led the NFL in combined touchdowns in both 2021 and 2022. He hasn't gotten so many rushes over his carry that he has been overused either, so he should still be a relatively fresh 29-year-old who can help teach whichever young running backs the Patriots pick up in the draft in 2024.
New England needs to go after quarterback Kirk Cousins
Much of potentially signing Cousins is based on whether Bill Belichick comes back or not. As Belichick is an aging coach, his window to start winning again will not be open for long. If Belichick is allowed another season in New England, the team has no reason not to be aggressive in helping close out his career on a high note. The team has loads to spend, plus draft capital, so the options to add good players are numerous.
Cousins will be 36 years old in Week 1 of the 2024 season and coming off an Achilles injury. He should be fine to start next year, however. After all, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers could return soon, and he suffered his Achilles injury in Week 1 of this season. But Cousins' experience is going to be the calm in the storm of the Patriots offensive rebuild. Plus, adding Cousins doesn't mean the team cannot also draft a quarterback early in the draft.
Cousins has always been fairly accurate in his career and maintains good arm strength. He also has become turnover-adverse over his career, as his interception percentage is only 1.8 percent in 3,081 pass attempts over six years with Minnesota. He led the NFL in game-winning drives in 2022 with eight, and his career quarterback rating is 98.2. He is an outstanding quarterback who could also help teach a rookie quarterback the ropes (or maybe even Mac Jones!).
Because Cousins is aging and coming off injury, Pro Football Focus (subscription required) projects his salary to only be in the $60 million over two years. That's nothing for an NFL quarterback in today's game, and two years with Cousins in New England would be perfect.