The New England Patriots are coming off back-to-back four-win seasons and missed the playoffs for a third consecutive campaign in 2024, the team's first three-year streak of futility since 1993. Turning around the ship in Foxborough won't be easy, even with a lot of offseason assets at the disposal of new coach Mike Vrabel.
The Patriots coach isn't going to start by predicting a playoff run or anything so tangible. The first stage in Vrabel's rebuilding plan is getting buy-in from the locker room.
"I think a successful season is going to be one where the players believe in what we're doing. This is what's going to help us, this is what's best for us. These people care," Vrabel told Karen Guregian of MassLive during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
"That allows us to get better as the season goes on, that allows us to improve as the season goes on, and the teams that improve as the season goes on usually have an opportunity to play in January. That's what success is going to look like. That the players believe in what we're doing."
There are massive holes on the Patriots' roster. They must completely overhaul the offensive line, add weapons for young quarterback Drake Maye, improve the pass rush on defense, bulk up the front seven and add another piece or three to the secondary. Essentially, there isn't a room in the Patriots facility that couldn't use an upgrade.
New England holds the No. 4 overall pick and nine total selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, including five in the top 105. The Patriots also enter the offseason with by far the most salary cap space available -- $127.8 million, $30 million more than the next closest, per Over The Cap.
Tossing money around in free agency isn't always a panacea for what ills rosters -- as the Patriots have found out in the past -- but it will be one avenue for Vrabel's club to improve heading into 2025.
The coach intimated that even with hoards of cash available, the Pats won't spend just to spend.
"There's a limit to what we will do, I would imagine," Vrabel answered. "Again, it's free agency. You have to understand you're probably going to overspend, per se. But we also have to use this as an avenue to strengthen our roster. It's not the end-all-be all. It's not the only answer. But it's got to contribute to strengthen our roster.
"To say there's an at-any-cost mentality (to sign free agents), I don't think that."
For a former player who spent six seasons running the Tennessee Titans, Vrabel's primary goal in 2025 is to lay a foundation to get New England back to its winning ways. To do so, first, the Patriots must find the right players that fit the mold of their new coach.
"I want them to work with me. Like, we're in this together. I want to be along on a journey and help them have a successful career," Vrabel said. "The better they play, the better the team's going to do. That's facts. So, tough-minded? I think they have to be tough-minded to play professional football. I think you have to be resilient. I think if you're just going to say you're going to win every matchup, that's not factual.
"So I think anybody in this league, whether you coach in it, or play in it, certainly has to have some resiliency."
A three-year skid feels like rock bottom for an organization that got so used to winning over the past 30 years. With numerous holes and a young quarterback, the growing pains could last well into the 2025 season before Vrabel's plan takes root and blossoms into playoff potential.
