Fellow NFL executives absolutely bury Robert Kraft for Patriots' cheapness

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been in the spotlight this offseason as the team has undergone a massive change. The 2024 season will mark the first without Bill Belichick and if the Pats take a step back in any way then Kraft will quickly turn into a full-fledged villain in New England.

Kraft hasn't done much to help his case this offseason, either. While the team did re-sign Kyle Dugger to a top-line safety contract, the Patriots have not done much spending outside of that. In an offseason with several big-name prospect, the Patriots not using this cap space has been very disappointing.

Patriots fans are not the only one giving Kraft a hard time for this lack of spending in New England. Kraft's own peers have even taken to the media to anonymously bash the six-time Super Bowl-winning owner.

Two executives spoke anonymously to Mike Sandro of The Athletic and did not pull any punches when talking about Kraft's lack of offseason spending.

"Kraft mentions the (state income) taxes, the quarterback, the player’s girlfriend and then he mentioned the money. The reality is, if the dollar net taxes was higher in New England than in Tennessee, they would have gotten the player. It’s like Kraft can’t live in a world where he is looked at as the problem."

Fellow NFL executive slam Patriots owner Robert Kraft

To be fair, nothing said in the quote above is incorrect. There have been excuses from Kraft himself this offseason when explaining the lack of spending when the bottom line is that the Patriots were simply outbid by the Tennessee Titans when it came to Calvin Ridley.

Now the Patriots have remaining cap space but nothing to really spend it on. The marquee free agents have all signed and unless the Patriots end up making a trade for Tee Higgins, the team will end up using this cap space on mediocre players.

There has been a disconnect between the fanbase and the team as well as the team itself. Patriots fans have gotten conflicting information from head coach Jerod Mayo and GM Eliot Wolf that has not lined up with what has actually happened.

This is the other point of contention that Kraft's peer had no problems calling out in Sandro's report. It has been confusing and downright disappointing for the Patriots fans who have poured their hearts and souls into this team.

Typically, Pats fans would rally around and defend their own, especially after everything Kraft has brought the organization. But in such a polarizing offseason, this cheap approach by the Patriots is unacceptable.