The NFL offseason is officially underway. After two straight 4-13 campaigns, the New England Patriots became the surprise of the NFL this past season, going 14-3 and qualifying for the Super Bowl. Though they came up short, it was an overall success, given the expectations going into the season.
While the 2025 campaign was a successful one for the Patriots, the roster will need to improve. New England has 11 picks in this year's draft, and it will be interesting to see what the draft strategy looks like. Before we reach the draft, we have to get through free agency.
Looking at free agency, the Patriots will have $41 Million in cap space, per Over the Cap. One name that will be available is someone the Patriots made a call on mid-season, which means fans should expect to see even more rumors regarding the now-Super Bowl champion defender.
Patriots Could Reignite Pursuit of Boye Mafe
At the NFL trade deadline, the Patriots had an uneventful day, but did make some calls. One was on the availability of Seattle Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe, per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, via NBC Sports Boston. In this past season, Mafe had a down season, registering career lows in tackles (31) and sacks (2). When free agency begins, even after a down season, Mafe is an interesting option.
Mafe has produced in the past, registering 18 sacks in his first three seasons, and signing him would help address a need on defense, with K'Lavon Chaisson being a free agent and Harold Landry having injury concerns. Signing Mafe would improve the defense and allow the Patriots to utilize draft picks on bigger needs.
One reason New England could steer away from Mafe is if the team wants Chaisson back, or if Mafe's contract gets more expensive than they'd like. In option one, Vrabel and co could look to reward Chaisson for his breakout campaign and lock him in for the future. Option two could be that they like someone in the draft and would rather draft them and have them start, while also adding a less expensive player in free agency.
Given their previous interest expressed in Mafe, it wouldn't be shocking to see the Patriots at least gauge interest during free agency. Before free agency, New England will look to fill the vacant defensive coordinator position after Terrell Williams moved into a different role.