Patriots GM Bill Belichick under scrutiny after free agency splurge
The New England Patriots de facto General Manager Bill Belichick will be placed under the microscope this season after doling out mega-millions for 10 free agents.
It’s more like tens or hundreds of millions of owner Bob Kraft’s money to bring in a barrel-full of free agents who are receiving mixed reviews in the media.
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Belichick’s going all-in on in free agency has put him clearly under the spotlight this season not only by the rest of the NFL but also by his owner.
Kraft would likely not be thrilled with anything but a playoff season after dishing out a ton of his money on free agents unlike any time in his ownership of the franchise.
Veteran Patriots fans will recall that former coach Bill Parcells doled out a bundle one season in 1994 or so (about $25M) mainly on his past Giants players, many of who subsequently flopped.
It is my view that this disaster ultimately took Parcells out of the grocery-buying business and ultimately led to his split from Kraft and the New England Patriots completely.
This offseason, Belichick’s aggressive free agency may put him in a similar position to Parcells, though his six Super Bowl wins with a certain quarterback will certainly give him a lot more slack than Parcells received.
Still, when you spend tens of millions of dollars on free agents of your boss’s money, it’s always a good idea to make good on the investment.
New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft goes all-in investing in free agents
Kraft recently compared free agency spending to “investing in the stock market“. Hopefully, it will be a bull market and not a bear one like 2008. Some experts aren’t exactly overflowing with praise for Belichick’s choices.
Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne are decent receivers but with big money spent on the two, why didn’t Belichick instead go for a top receiver on the market? They were available. He passed.
Others bring questions, as well. One who scares a bit is Matt Judon, the defensive end signed away from Baltimore. Now, this has nothing to do with the player or his performance.
Judon has averaged just under 7 sacks per season in his five years at Baltimore. Very respectable especially in light of New England’s lack of that ability the past few years.
In 2020, New England logged a total of a meager 24 sacks and Chase Winovich had 5.5 of them to lead the team. Not very impressive. Judon would have led the team, by 1/2 a sack. Again, a bit underwhelming. Could they have done better than Judon? Very possibly.
But one thing that really worries about Judon is a precedent set by the free-agent acquisition years ago of Adalius Thomas, who coincidentally played the same position.
Like Judon, Thomas was a very good sack man in Baltimore but came to New England and only could manage 14.5 over three seasons.
Not really what they were looking for. Let’s hope Judon doesn’t repeat history.
Yet, Judon was a Pro Bowler the past two seasons and that could presage good things. Let’s hope so.
So while overall, the reviews of the Patriots free agency blitz may be mixed, one position in which they look very good is the tight end position. That could be a very good thing if Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry pan out.
Next. Justin Fields would be dream come true for Pats fans. dark
So Belichick has put all of his money in the pot, gone all-in as he never has before in free agency, and hopefully will win the pot. If he does, the New England Patriots are likely headed back to the playoffs. If not, it could be a very long season, indeed.