Jerod Mayo's cap space philosophy won't sit well with Patriots fans

The Patriots went into the 2024 offseason with some of the most cap space to spend in the league, which couldn't have happened at a better time, given the significant improvements needed for their roster. With Bill Belichick moving on and a new regime in charge of calling the shots, there was hope there wouldn't be a hesitancy to spend what was needed to make the team better.

Jerod Mayo seemed to imply that was the plan immediately after being announced as the team's next head coach. He told reporters they were ready to "burn some cash," which was not something Belichick, the GM, seemed interested in doing during his tenure.

Although Mayo had to eventually walk back that comment, most believed it was just a way to save face with the higher ups who likely weren't pleased with the declaration. However, the only substantial money spent during free agency was extending their own players, and not to acquire new talent.

It's hard to argue against their decision to bring back some of their best players on new contracts, mainly when that list includes Christian Barmore and Mike Onwenu. But entering the new season with nearly $40 million remaining in cap space and a struggling team through the first four games has fans questioning the new regime's philosophy on handling signing and paying players.

It certainly doesn't help to hear Mayo's latest comments regarding the issue, either.

Jerod Mayo's comments about the Patriots' high cap space

During his weekly appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show," Mayo was asked about the Patriots substantial remaining cap space and if there were any plans to spend some before the season was over, especially after the offense has continued to struggle.

The head coach didn't exactly say no, but he also didn't imply that they're actively looking for outside talent that could be helpful to the 2024 roster.

“Eliot (Wolf) and I are on the same page where we want to draft and develop. Now, it’s easy to sit here and say how much money you have. But, if there aren’t players out there that you really want on your team at that current time, you just have to wait…

This past free agency we felt like we signed the top offensive lineman, he just happened to be on our team. And I don’t wanna just say we got money let’s go spend it frivolously and I think Eliot will feel the same.”

While he makes a valid point about not signing talent just for the sake of doing so, some intriguing offensive line options should be on their radar. The situation with the o-line group is not getting any better, so pursuing players who remain unsigned seems the most logical.

At the same time, it wouldn't be surprising to learn that the new regime hopes to have as much cap space as possible roll over into next offseason, giving them even more to spend on top of their projected amount.

That's not necessarily a bad plan, but it doesn't help the team right now, and that should be at the forefront of their concerns.

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