Vederian Lowe and 7 Patriots nearing the end of their New England tenures

The 2024 Patriots' season has been relegated to the dustbin of history with the loss to Miami in Week 12. The team is terrible. Built by the newly designated Executive Vice President of Player Personnel, Eliot Wolf, it was flawed from the outset and doomed to failure.

Like all NFL teams, the offseason is when good teams are built. The Patriots' 2024 roster creation was a disaster from the get-go, prompting speculation that the team had decided to tank the season before it even began, a possibly unprecedented occurrence.

Whether it was planned or not, the season was projected to be and is a debacle. There is only one decision in the entire offseason (other than some re-signings of current players, which haven't worked out so well either) drafting quarterback, Drake Maye was stellar. It was an A+++ move. The rest grade an F.

With that in mind, let's project eight players who may stay and may go, four on each side of the ball, as whoever is in charge of personnel for the Patriots in 2025 seeks to restructure this disastrous roster. The thought here is that there should be lots of outgoings.

4 Patriots offensive players who should be jettisoned

On offense, loads of players should be given their walking papers. First, veteran backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett can be bid adieu. Wolf's signing was poor from the start and turned out terribly, as expected.

Wolf knew he had to draft a young quarterback high in the draft and should have known he had to play. Instead, he signed journeyman backup Brissett to an inflated eight-million-dollar contract. It was a losing move from the outset. Brissett will be elsewhere in 2025.

Next, there is the offensive line, one of the worst in Patriots' history. First to leave is Vederian Lowe, the left tackle. Lowe was a sixth-round pick by Minnesota, was traded to the Patriots for a sixth-round pick, and has played like an undrafted free-agent or waiver-wire acquisition.

Even before his woeful performance against the Dolphins, Lowe contributed mightily to the Patriots' last-place offensive line ranking by profootballnetwork.com. He's a disaster and won't be here in 2025. Continuing on the (N)O-line, a possible surprise is Mike Onwenu. Having signed a huge contract extension in the offseason, Onwenu showed up at camp, shall we say, "out-of-shape." He should be a trade candidate.

Lastly, on offense, former first-round pick Cole Strange can't stay on the field and should be traded or released, but his high draft status will probably save him. There are many others, but there are four on offense that can be released or traded, and except maybe Onwenu, the Pats will be none the worse for wear.

4 Patriots defensive flops who are likely on the way out

The outflow will continue on defense. On the defensive line, Davon Godchaux takes up a lot of cap space and hasn't justified the expenditure. He can be traded or released. He's billed as a run-stopper, but he doesn't stop the run. Any comparisons to the Patriots' great Vince Wilfork begin and end on size.

Veteran defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. is also on the downside of his career and is a candidate for a trade or release. Wise is a decent player who may garner a fifth—or sixth-round pick in a trade, but he is eminently expendable as he enters his season as a 31-year-old. He goes.

Two starting players can go in the secondary. If a trade for safety Kyle Dugger is possible, you make the deal. He was way overpaid and has way underperformed. Additionally, Jonathan Jones will be 32 next September. His stats are almost invisible. It's time to trade him or otherwise cut ties.

These are just a few Patriots players who can be off the roster in 2025 without much of a drop in performance. It's a shoddy testament to the 2024 offseason roster-building by first-year personnel head Elliot Wolf. Absent drafting Drake Maye, a no-brainer, he flopped.

It was a less-than-auspicious debut for the top personnel man and his team, which was also largely Bill Belichick's group. Owner Robert Kraft should rectify his most recent monster gaffe by adding a top President of Football Operations to oversee Wolf and company.

One thing is certain: there'll be lots for all of them to do this offseason.

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