The New England Patriots' offseason got off to a great start with an excellent draft and collaboration between new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf. Since then, though, some of the roster decisions since then have put Wolf in the hot seat as the start of a new season begins this week.
Since Vrabel and his staff have taken over in New England, they’ve cleaned up the roster and brought in the players that they see fit for the new direction of the team. In doing so, only two players remain on the team from the 2024 draft class in Drake Maye and Caedan Wallace.
That said, Vrabel and his staff have made roster decisions on players who were recently signed to a contract extension by Wolf but are now no longer on the team:
- Jabrill Peppers: Two-year, $24 Million (released)
- Davon Godchaux: Two-year, $21 Million (traded)
- David Andrews: Two-year, $12 Million (released, retired)
- Kendrick Bourne: Three-year, $19.5 Million (released)
There are also two other players who recently signed extensions that Vrabel and his staff showed interest in moving on from this offseason, with Kyle Dugger, who is signed to a four-year, $58 million contract, and Anfernee Jennings, who is signed to a three-year, $12 million deal.
On this same note, there are also four more contracts that Wolf paid out that the jury is still out on in New England, but there isn’t any reporting of Vrabel and his staff wanting to move on from them:
- Christian Barmore: Four-year, $83 Million
- Mike Onwenu: Three-year, $57 Million
- Rhamondre Stevenson: Four-year, $36 Million
- Jahlani Tavai: Three-year, $16 Million
Does Mike Vrabel Already Have Eliot Wolf's Replacement?
I keep mentioning Vrabel and his staff, and it’s because when Vrabel arrived in New England as the new head coach, it also included his own staff. Part of that vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden. Perhaps Cowden has his eyes set on a potential general manager promotion down the line.
It’s also worth noting that Vrabel also brought in John Streicher to be the vice president of football operations and strategy, and has the reputation for being Vrabel’s right-hand man.
The way the offseason has ended with the Patriots releasing or cutting many of the players that Wolf recently signed has to be a telltale sign that Wolf’s football decisions don’t really align with Vrabel and his philosophies.
All of that said, Wolf is clearly in the hot seat and Vrabel already has his replacement ready.