The New England Patriots were one win away from ultimate glory. Instead, their offense -- especially their offensive line -- was exposed on the biggest stage at the worst possible time. That cannot happen again next season, not if New England has any hopes of building on their 2025 campaign.
Some will talk about Stefon Diggs' disappearing act and rightly so. Others will argue that Drake Maye needed more weapons, and that's fair to a degree. However, there wasn't much he could have done with the pocket collapsing around him on seemingly every dropback.
Considering that, Eliot Wolf will have to get to work and revamp the offensive line in the offseason. That should mean that the Morgan Moses experiment will be over after just one year with the organization.
The Patriots Must Part Ways With Morgan Moses
The Patriots gave Moses a three-year, $24 million deal with $11 million guaranteed to be their right tackle. That clearly didn't do much to keep Drake Maye out of harm's way, as the second-year quarterback took a whopping 21 sacks in the playoffs, the most in NFL history. That included six sacks in the Super Bowl, killing any opportunity the offense had to gain traction.
Not counting the Super Bowl, Moses gave up 2.0 sacks and five QB hits, which isn't bad at all. However, he allowed 31 pressures and 24 hurries and drew eight penalties. More than that, he was just average as a pass-blocker, logging a 69.8 Pro Football Focus grade, which ranked 43rd among 89 eligible players.
Granted, Moses wasn't unplayable, but the Patriots could do a whole lot better. More than that, another team could use a veteran right tackle, and they should have plenty of incentives to trade him, as a post-June 1 trade would clear $7.6 million in salary cap, according to Over The Cap.
Moses is a decent player who can be a true workhorse as he rarely misses a game or even a snap. With that said, he is already on the wrong side of 34 years old and is far closer to the end of his career than his prime. Despite that, Moses should still have some value around the league, and the Patriots might be able to land a Day 3 pick in return for his services.
The Pats are committed to, or more like stuck with, Will Campbell for at least another year. It's way too early to give up on a former first-round pick, no matter how bad he looked in the Super Bowl. As such, bolstering the right tackle position will probably be the best and fastest way to improve pass protection and keep Drake Maye out of harm's way.