Monday's 38-9 loss to the Bills dropped the Patriots to 6-9 on the year and it was their fifth double-digit loss of the season.
By way of comparison, from 2011-19 the team had just nine double-digit losses.
It's also the first year the team will miss the playoffs since 2008 and the players on the team know because of the disappointing season, big changes are coming this offseason.
“I think when you have a season like we did this year and you’re not going to the playoffs, you have embarrassing losses, this roster’s going to be a lot different,” Jason McCourty said following Monday's game. “There’s a lot of guys that are in the locker room tonight that aren’t going to be in the locker room next year. Guys that are playing football right now that aren’t going to be playing football next year.”
McCourty himself could be one of those players, as the 33-year-old is set to become a free agent following the year.
“That’s something I think that I’ll evaluate in the offseason,” he said. “For me, this is Year 12, so when you get this high up in numbers, I think each year you have to evaluate. Obviously, I’ll be a free agent. You have to evaluate situations, family and the whole nine. So I think a little bit deeper into the offseason is when I’ll probably have to make that decision and talk to my wife and decide what’s next for us in our lives.”
Other players on the roster who will be free agents include Lawrence Guy, James White, Rex Burkhead, David Andrews and Joe Thuney.
The Patriots currently have the No. 14 overall pick in the draft and then are projected to have over $70 million in cap space, the third-most in the entire league.
