Jan 13, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; Mike Vrabel addresses media at a press conference to announce his hiring as the New England Patriots head coach at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images
The New England Patriots are entering an absolutely pivotal offseason, and they have already gotten it off to a nice start by hiring Mike Vrabel as their new head coach.
Now, it's time for the Patriots to actually begin improving their roster.
New England has arguably the worst roster in football right now, so it certainly has a whole lot of work to do in the coming months.
The good news is that the Pats are loaded with cap space and solid draft capital. As a matter of fact, the Patriots are so teeming with resources that Timo Riske of Pro Football Focus has ranked New England No. 1 in in terms of offseason assets.
"The Patriots have already entrusted their offseason resources to the trio of Eliot Wolf, Mike Vrabel, and Ryan Cowden, with Cowden joining from the New York Giants," Riske wrote. " ... One significant advantage for New England is the stability at quarterback, as rookie Drake Maye showed plenty of promise in his first season."
Riske ranked all 32 teams by cap room, draft capital and contract restructure potential, and the Pats finished on top thanks mostly in part to the former two categories.
Of course, just because the Patriots have a ton of money available does not necessarily mean they will be able to sign free agents.
Remember: last year, New England had ample cap space but was shut out on the open market.
The Pats are not exactly a desirable destination for star players right now, so it would not be surprising to see some of their top targets -- like wide receiver Tee Higgins -- spurn them in March.
Fortunately, the Patriots can also peruse the trade market, and hopefully, they are able to better utilize their draft picks this time around.