An appearance in the Super Bowl only helps the Patriots become a premier free agent destination.
An appearance in the Super Bowl only helps the Patriots become a premier free agent destination.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
It was only two years ago that the Patriots were a free agency wasteland — a four-win team with cold weather, no quarterback, and outdated facilities. The Patriots couldn’t give their money away, with Calvin Ridley using the Patriots only for leverage and Brandon Aiyuk refusing a trade to New England.
Nowadays, Eliot Wolf’s recruiting pitch is a lot easier.
“Every free agent kind of says the same thing — I want to play for [Mike] Vrabel, I want to play with Drake [Maye],” said Wolf, the Patriots’ executive vice president of player personnel. “It’s pretty cool.”
Foxborough is still a cold, sleepy town, but Vrabel and Maye have made the Patriots a hot destination again. The Patriots didn’t have much problem attracting free agents this offseason, coming off their surprise Super Bowl run.
They have signed nine players for specific roles, including a former first-round pick to play left guard, a stout defensive end, an up-and-coming receiver, the NFL’s best fullback, and an All-Pro safety who only wanted to come to New England if he couldn’t re-sign with his previous team.
“I had two teams I wanted to play for this offseason — with the year we had in Chicago, that was going to be the first option, and then it was New England,” 11-year safety Kevin Byard said. “I’m here to try to add on to what this culture has already been. This is clearly not a rebuild.”
The Patriots are also the rumored destination for Eagles receiver A.J. Brown, who surely would welcome a reunion with Vrabel, his former coach in Tennessee.
Of course, money and playing time are almost always the top factors in landing a free agent. But when was the last time a free agent said he only wanted to play in New England? Or the Patriots were a serious destination for an elite receiver? Not since the Tom Brady days.
The reasons are obvious — Vrabel, the 2025 NFL Coach of the Year, and Maye, the 2025 MVP runner-up.
“New England has it right with Drake Maye,” Byard said. “So I’m excited to be able to play with him, but also to be able to play with some of the pieces this team has on defense who I think played really well last year.”
Maye, who recently vacationed in Japan following the Super Bowl loss, was back at Gillette Stadium last week to welcome his new teammates. His elite play in 2025, coming off five yawn-inducing years of Cam Newton, Mac Jones, Bailey Zappe, and Jacoby Brissett, changed the complexion of the Patriots franchise.
“He’s an amazing person to be around,” said new receiver Romeo Doubs, signed to replace Stefon Diggs. “Obviously, his growth as a player on and off the field, that’s really big. And I think just being able to lead the team.”
Vrabel has been equally important in establishing the Patriots as a destination. For 25 years the Patriots’ brand was a joyless pursuit of excellence, and in one season Vrabel made New England fun again. He invested in human connection, allowed players to be themselves, and created a new vibe around Gillette that was unmistakable to fellow players.
New fullback Reggie Gilliam, who spent the last five years with the Bills, saw it when he played at Gillette in Week 16.
“The second time we played them, I remember standing in the middle of the field, it was on kickoff return,” he said. Rapper “Travis Scott was up in the box, and he was doing his song or whatever, and the entire sideline was dancing and jumping around on each other. I was like, ‘Wow, they look like they have a lot of fun playing with each other.’ ”
New defensive end Dre’Mont Jones is excited to play for Vrabel, who won three Super Bowl rings as a player and is notorious for jumping into drills with his blocking pad.
“He’s a D-lineman, so he understands how to be nasty in there,” Jones said. “He knows what I’m going through. He can relate. He knows the ins and outs of the position. He knows what I see. He’s able to understand what I see and how I react based on what the O-line does. Stuff like that, you have to appreciate. I’m excited to work with him.”
Byard, who previously played for Vrabel for six years in Tennessee, said one of Vrabel’s best qualities is how he fosters a culture of deep personal relationships. These are not exactly things that would said of the Patriots in the near quarter century under Bill Belichick.
“I think he does a great job of trying to develop relationships with everybody, getting to know your family, knowing your kids’ names and stuff like that,” Byard said of Vrabel. “It’s easier to be able to get more out of a player when a player knows that you actually care about them.”
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.