The Patriots made a splash on the first day of the legal tampering period, but not everyone agreed with the amount of money New England reportedly spent on the players they signed.
ESPN’s Ben Solak believes the Patriots [“spent madly”](https://www.espn.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/44208027/2025-nfl-free-agency-best-worst-most-surprising-moves-contracts-daniel-jones-colts-geno-smith-seahawks) to fill many roster holes.
“The Patriots did what bad teams with tons of money always do in free agency: They spent, and spent, and spent some more,” Solak wrote Wednesday. “All in all, they have agreed to pay $292.6 million over the course of nine deals signed for the next few seasons.
“Big free agent bags can take a team from bad to average pretty quickly. (New Englanders will remember the unprecedented $159.6 million in guaranteed money the team handed out in the 2021 offseason, which helped the team go 10-7 in the ensuing season.).”
Solak stressed his point about the Patriots’ spending [using a joke](https://youtu.be/Nl_Qyk9DSUw?si=XWzNy1ccbqv3eItU) from the hit show “Arrested Development” before completing his assessment.
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“The Patriots have plugged plenty of holes on their roster and still have the cash necessary to add a guard or another wide receiver. And if the Bengals finally start to cave on Tee Higgins’ trade market, they could send some picks to Cincy for him, too,” Solak wrote. “After all, it’s just a star receiver, Michael. What could it cost?”
Featured image via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images