The Patriots spent the final few seasons of Bill Belichick’s run as head coach and GM with the pursestrings tightened.
That could be changing as soon as this offseason.
The Patriots are turning the page on the Belichick era, with Jerod Mayo now the head coach and New England intent on hiring a new general manager to work with him. The Patriots had been relatively inactive in recent offseasons, and last season were 31st in the NFL in cash spending.
Belichick had pushed back on the criticisms of cash spending, pointing to cap spending as the more important metric. In any event, the Patriots enter this offseason among the teams with the most cap space, a figure that projects north of $70 million.
Mayo said Monday in his first appearance on the Greg Hill Show that they’ll make use of that cap space.
“We’re bringing in talent, 1000 percent,” Mayo said. “Have a lot of cap space, and cash. Burn some cash.”
Mayo was making a quip with the “burn some cash” remark, but he nevertheless seems intent on ensuring the talent around the roster is upgrading following a four-win season.
The Patriots have the third pick in the upcoming draft, and Mayo said they'll take the best available player relative to where their biggest needs on the roster are. He wouldn't say specifically what area he thinks is the biggest need, but New England's free agency activity could potentially shed some light on that.