Head coach Mike Vrabel finished his first season with the New England Patriots with a 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
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While the Patriots liked the progress they made under Vrabel, the team must take steps in the offseason to be better prepared for a more challenging schedule during the 2026 regular season than the one they had in 2025.
New England’s offensive line was exposed in the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl. The Patriots need to give Drake Maye better targets before his third season in the league.
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Veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs led the Patriots in receiving yards during the regular season, but it’s unclear if the team will keep him on the roster this offseason.
Mike Reiss of ESPN named Diggs as one of three players the Patriots could move on from before the league new year on March 11. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore and offensive guard Mike Onwenu could be on the chopping block this spring.
“For example, receiver Stefon Diggs’ salary cap charge increases from $9.5 million to $26.5 million, and his base salary spikes from $2.9 million to $20.6 million,” Reiss wrote.
“Defensive tackle Christian Barmore is due $10 million guaranteed if he’s on the roster on the third day of the league year. Right guard Mike Onwenu’s base salary bumps to $16 million and his cap charge to $25 million, and he has no remaining guaranteed money on his deal.”
The good news for the Patriots is that they have $41 million in cap space, per Over the Cap.
Last week, Vrabel hinted that difficult choices were coming for veterans this offseason.
“But you have to start over,” Vrabel said. “This whole thing starts over in 10 weeks. The offseason program starts in 10 weeks. That’s how I look at this, and when I said that to them, they kind of looked at me like I was crazy. But that’s the reality of it. We have a group of guys that played a lot of football. We have a lot of guys that didn’t play a lot of football.
“As I was taught, we talk about the business of the NFL, the businesses, we’re looking for the better, younger, cheaper player every day, and the players that we have are trying to not let that happen. And that’s the dynamic, and that’s the business of the National Football League.”
The Patriots needed a mix of young athletes and experienced players like Diggs to reach the Super Bowl.
Now, New England must decide how to max out their roster efficiently to make another push for a championship while Maye is under a rookie contract.
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