3 Worst Patriots Contracts to Overcome This Offseason

The New England Patriots are entering the first offseason in over two decades with a plan to rebuild. Bill Belichick is out as the lead man and now Jerod Mayo takes over for the Patriots. New England has a boatload of needs but they are sitting on plenty of cap space as well.

Per Spotrac, the Patriots are scheduled to have $73.9 million in cap space. That is a lot of wiggle room for New England but that number could rise with some moves over the offseason. Below we'll talk about some bad contracts on the books for New England.

1. Davon Godchaux, DT

The Patriots need some difference-makers all over the field. Defensive tackle Davon Godchaux is one player that New England could look at parting ways with. Godchaux came over to the Patriots in 2021 as a free agent. Heading into the 2022 season, he agreed to a two-year, $20.8 million extension.

Godchaux's role on the team was to be a run-stuffer in the middle of the unit. He was average in that aspect for the Patriots and gave little to no juice as a pass rusher. Over seven seasons, Godchaux has only recorded 5.5 sacks.

Having a run-stuffing defender along the interior sounds more like a luxury now. New England could easily part ways with Godchaux in the offseason. If they released him, they would save $8.1 million against the salary cap. When you have needs all over the roster, that money could go a long way.