The New England Patriots needed to upgrade their roster in every area, and with the work of new head coach Mike Vrabel collaborating with Patriots GM Eliot Wolf, they’ve retooled by adding many new and different players to it.
Once Vrabel settled in as head coach, he quickly cleaned up the roster and added players he had previously coached and knew would have a positive impact on the team. He started with the defense by adding veterans to strengthen them on every level.
On offense, New England added two veteran wide receivers, two free agent offensive linemen, and then used their first four draft picks to surround quarterback Drake Maye with better talent in his second year.
This new regime really touched every level of the team, they even hit the special teams unit in a big way.
Here’s a look at the Patriots updated roster:
Quarterbacks (4)
The Patriots solidified the quarterback position last year with Drake Maye. In fact, Maye played a large part in Vrabel wanting to be the next head coach in New England.
One of the many offseason decisions Vrabel made was to trade backup quarterback Joe Milton to the Dallas Cowboys, as he continues to add players he knows will make a positive impact on the field and in the locker room.
The move was somewhat surprising, but it was to ultimately give Maye the space he needs to be able to be successful and to continue developing while in a new system with new coaches in his second year.
Adding a veteran backup quarterback to be behind Maye is important to have, which is why they added Josh Dobbs.
They also added two undrafted rookie free agents to compete in camps with Ben Wooldridge (Louisiana) and Jake Wilcox (Brown).
- Drake Maye
- Josh Dobbs
- Ben Wooldridge
- Jake Wilcox