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Mike Vrabel is ready for the New England Patriots to spend in NFL free agency.
The Patriots head coach was pretty blunt when asked what his team's approach would be in free agency this offseason as he met with reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine on Tuesday.
“We want to be aggressive,” Vrabel said. “We want to target players we feel like are going to help us, that are going to be outstanding players, and are going to be outstanding additions to the locker room and the community. If that all fits and the compensation fits… I'm confident we'll be aggressive; we've started some of those discussions internally.
“Free agency gets broken down into compensation, and then it gets broken down into opportunity, and I feel like we're in a position to offer both, as far as compensation and opportunity for some of these players.”
Pats plan to be aggressive in free agency this year 👀 pic.twitter.com/Nyqd64rwZP
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) February 25, 2025
Vrabel certainly isn't wrong that the Patriots are well-positioned to be more aggressive than anyone this offseason. New England is set to have roughly $128 million in cap space this offseason, per OverTheCap.com. That's the most in the league as of Tuesday.
Additionally, the Patriots are armed with valuable picks if they want to make a big addition via trade. They'll be drafting with one of the first handful of selections in each round. They also have an additional third-round pick, which they received in a trade with the Atlanta Falcons for Matthew Judon.
Are the Patriots willing to spend above market value?
Even though the Patriots have the most cap space in the league, that doesn't mean they'll automatically land players. They learned that last offseason when wide receivers Calvin Ridley and Brandon Aiyuk turned down their overtures despite being offered rich contracts.
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Following another 4-13 season, New England might have to pay an extra price in order to land top talent. Vrabel acknowledged that fact and seemed willing to possibly get uncomfortable if the Patriots have to in order to land a player they really want.
“I like to shop like everybody else,” Vrabel said. “And so when you go, and there's only one of a certain car, maybe you have to pay a little bit more for that one car because there's only one of them.
“When you start to get into a range where you feel like there's an area where players are comparable, and you like three or four players in a certain area for a certain role, you may not have to overspend, but it's free agency. I think that everybody overspends sometimes in free agency.”
Playing off Vrabel's car analogy, the Patriots don't really have many – if any – players that can be considered a rare make of a car that a lot of people want. They only had two players named to an All-Pro team this past season, with one of them being gunner Brenden Schooler. Drake Maye also had a strong rookie season, but the premium talent on the Patriots' roster is lacking beyond that.
Vrabel has big goals in mind for the 2025 season, so acquiring one of those players in free agency will be imperative.
“We have to improve,” Vrabel said. “That's the goal. Our expectations aren't going to change. It's going to be to win the division, it's going to be the host from playoff games, and it's going to be to compete for championships. So we're never going to put a timetable or any sort of prediction on when that may happen, but it has to happen.”
Luckily for the Patriots, there are a handful of players who could become available for them at positions of need. Tee Higgins, Cooper Kupp, Josh Sweat, Zack Baun, Milton Williams, Trey Smith, and Nick Bolton are among the group of players who are scheduled to be free agents or will be moved this offseason.
