New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo is walking back his comments about ‘burning some cash’ this offseason, as the team is set to begin free agency.
New England is at $77.9 million under the salary cap for 2024. So they’ll have plenty of money to spend in free agency to help rebuild the team after a 4-13 finish in the 2023 season.
The Patriots already hold a major asset in the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, but their plentiful cap space will give them an opportunity to build prior to that.
Mayo told MassLive.com’s Karen Guregian that he understands New England does not necessarily need to spend all of that money at one time, as transcribed by NESN.com’s Keagan Stiefel.
“I kind of misspoke when I said ‘burn some cash’ but I was excited when you see those numbers,” Mayo told Guregian. “When you reflect on those numbers… you don’t have to spend all of it in one year.”
“This is going to be a process. I don’t want people to think, ‘you got $60 million, $70 million, whatever, so let’s get this guy, that guy, that guy,’ Mayo said. “… It may work for a couple games, or maybe a season, but it won’t work long term.”
The Patriots need to fill several areas on the roster to be competitive.
With that being said, it may be smart to take a more measured approach than just burning cash for the sake of it. The organization is in a position where each free-agent signing could change the trajectory of things, for better or worse.
