It felt fitting somehow that Jonnu Smith, one of the first big reported signings of the Patriots’ 2021 free-agent class, left town at the start of free agency’s legal tampering period yesterday.
It wasn’t just an admission of a mistake by the Patriots, who got next to nothing out of Smith in the two seasons he was here and luckily got a seventh-round pick back for him.
It was also a reminder of the way New England typically likes to approach free agency, even if it irks fans.
On Monday, the Patriots made just two moves once the legal tampering period opened at noon, and both involved re-signing their own unrestricted free agents (Jonathan Jones and Carl Davis).
Big-name tackle options Mike McGlinchey and Jawaan Taylor reportedly got paid big-time by Denver and Kansas City, respectively.
Jessie Bates, a fan-favorite option to replace the now-retired Devin McCourty, got a bag from the Atlanta Falcons.
No re-signing Jakobi Meyers. No other moves as other teams threw around big money on Day 1 of the tampering period.
Just sitting and waiting out the madness until the market cools.
That’s not going to cut it for a fanbase that wants to see tangible proof the team is improving or at least a financial commitment to trying. For example, if the Patriots aren’t able to sign Orlando Brown or otherwise upgrade the offensive tackle spot, the pitchforks are going to start getting sharpened in these parts.
But perhaps it’s always useful to remember this about free agency: if a guy is that good and irreplaceable, their team wouldn’t be letting them test the market in the first place.
Maybe that’s why Bill Belichick likes to wait for the “right” players to add rather than the “best” ones — and always at a bargain price when he can get it. In his mind, I’m sure the calculus errs more toward signing a bunch of average players that can fit what the team needs and patch a number of holes than spend a lot of money on one average-to-good player that only helps in one place.
The only reason 2021 was different was because the Patriots had a lot of cap space and teams were wary of spending during the post-COVID offseason. If that scenario had unfolded now, Matthew Judon’s probably getting a heftier deal to go play elsewhere, and you likely only get one, not both, of the tight ends.
Nowadays, it seems highly improbable that they’ll be meaningfully in on the biggest names fans want them to be, even Orlando Brown. Let other teams pay them the big bucks, and we’ll grab the best of the rest and keep ourselves flexible for later in the year/next season, they figure.
None of that means the Patriots will be bad. In fact, the overall core they have is decent and should net them a floor of at least 7-8 wins. It just means they need to get their work done in the draft and find Day 1 contributors that way rather than paying top dollar for anyone here.
Of course, it would be behoove the Patriots to try not to go into the draft with multiple glaring holes in their roster and at least find serviceable options to hold them over at positions of need until the end of April.
But let’s keep it real: most of these guys the Patriots could sign, even at key positions, aren’t changing the course of the franchise. So missing out on a big-ticket items isn’t a huge loss as long as they can add a volume of solid players with the money they have.
New England knows there are more patient ways to make your team better, especially when you don’t have crazy funds to spend. That’s not going to curry a ton of immediate favor, but it might ultimately make the most sense for where this team is right now.
We’ve seen the Patriots go crazy in free agency. While there was more good than bad, all things considered, the fact is that it didn’t get them where they wanted to be — a Super Bowl.
The moves that will meaningfully change the Patriots’ outlook will probably happen elsewhere (if they happen at all).