The Patriots were among the teams with the most cap space entering the offseason and came away with zero marquee free agents, but that wasn't due to a lack of trying.
New England brought in veterans on low-cost deals, and the most important signings Eliot Wolf made in his first season as executive vice president of player personnel were retaining players from a 4-13 team. Granted, Mike Onwenu and Christian Barmore could be cornerstone players at key positions. However, the failed pursuits of headline players like Calvin Ridley and Brandon Aiyuk will cloud the offseason.
Reports last month revealed the Patriots were willing to offer Aiyuk a deal that topped around $30 million annually, at least enough to make him one of the five highest-paid wide receivers in the NFL. The 26-year-old has no desire to play for New England and after a Pittsburgh Steelers deal never materialized, the star wideout signed with the San Francisco 49ers on a four-year, $120 million contract.
A segment of fans and media clung to the narrative that New England got cheap again and missed out on a game-changing talent. However, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer on Monday detailed all the offers the 49ers received in trade packages and the contracts offered to Aiyuk.
Breer confirmed the Patriots presented a contract offer that averaged $30 million over three years and another that exceeded $32 million annually over four years. A potential trade would have included a 2025 second-round pick, a 2026 fourth-rounder, and Kendrick Bourne, whom the Niners requested.
The Cleveland Browns' and Steelers' offers were also revealed, and their contract offers to Aiyuk were not close to what New England offered. In fact, Pittsburgh, which was Aiyuk's preferred destination, did not want to pay the wideout more money than T.J. Watt, who makes $28 million a year. Even San Francisco had to go up from its initial $26 million offer in May. If there was a team that was cheap in negotiations, it wasn't the Patriots.
"Of the teams that were in this, (the Patriots) had the strongest monetary offers in just about every way," Breer said on NBC Sports Boston this week.
Those who think the front office and ownership don't want to spend money are losing ground when it comes to evidence. What they do gain favor in when it comes to narratives is New England not being a premier destination. A lot of fans already agreed on this, but Breer's report Monday triple-downed on that idea. The Patriots could have made Aiyuk the highest-paid receiver, and he still probably would have refused to sign.
The next crop of free agents could be even more enticing when it comes to playmakers, and a successful 2024 season could make the difference with a team that showed this offseason it's willing to spend money.
