New England Patriots links 1/23/24 – Burn, baby, burn: Patriots ready to spend some cash

Daily news and links for Tuesday

Jerod Mayo went on WEEI yesterday with a message that perked up a weary Patriots Nation. He and Robert Kraft are ready to go on a spending spree. Boasting the NFL’s fourth-highest salary cap, there is money for Patriots’ pending free agents to get paid and to shop for top-shelf groceries. All good to hear.

But the inference also being spun is stingy old ‘Scrooge’ Belichick’ is gone, so they can finally ‘burn some cash’.

As Conor Ryan explained, “Last June, Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard quoted Kraft as saying: ‘[Bill Belichick] has never come to me and not gotten everything he wanted from a cash-spending perspective. We have never set limits. Money spending will never be the issue, I promise you, or I’ll sell the team.’ So that’s pretty definitive.”

The idea that Belichick was the only one holding the purse strings at Gillette and keeping the Kraft family back from spending money is disingenuous. Think back to when and why Bill Belichick was hired in the first place. A 2016 Forbes column about leadership explains why the Kraft/Belichick duo worked so well. It’s worth the read.

Kraft appreciated that Belichick understood how the salary cap worked and would spend with the future in mind. “[Belichick] adapts to the competition in order to beat them. It’s why he can win a Super Bowl with a largely mediocre roster—his players are adaptable. They play for each other and play for him, and they’ll do whatever they’re told to do to the best of their ability because of it. It goes to show what leadership and proper motivation can do.”

Unlike Bill Parcells, who urged building a team that could ‘win now’ — handing out big bonuses to attract star players, but at the expense of mortgaging the future. Mr. Kraft may say he spent whatever Belichick asked him for, but he also knew that Belichick would not ask for cash to be spent that would hurt the team in the future. To leave that part out is to skew the story.

TEAM TALK

• Mike Dussault’s Patriots 2024 Offseason Primer.
• Mike Dussault’s Report Roundup: Patriots ramp up coordinator interviews.
• WEEI Patriots Monday: Jerod Mayo (22 min.)

LOCAL LINKS

• Sara Marshall says Jerod Mayo is ready to do what Bill Belichick wouldn’t for the Patriots: Spend money.
• Logan Mullen highlights WEEI guest Jerod Mayo on how after multiple years ranking near the bottom in the league in cash spending, New England will “burn some cash” this offseason.
• Mike D’Abate points out, in the interest of fairness, ‘the notion of New England’s staunch … commitment to frugality under Belichick is somewhat of a short-sighted, nationally-driven narrative. Just three years prior, the team committed north of $160 million to seven free agents, such as Henry, linebacker Matthew Judon, defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and defensive back Jalen Mills —most of which came within hours of the start of the NFL’s legal tampering window.’
• Mark Daniels relays Jerod Mayo offering updates on his staff, the interview process and Bill Belichick’s sons. “We have a great relationship. They have the option to stay,” Mayo said. “They also have the option to go with their father, if they want to. Still kind of going through it. I have a good relationship with both of them. They’re great coaches. We’ll see what happens.”
• Mike Kadlick gives his take on Jerod Mayo speaking candidly about about Mac Jones and his team’s current leadership core.
• Ian Logue posts a transcript of Jerod Mayo’s appearance on WEEI yesterday.
• Sophie Weller analyzes the Marvin Harrison Jr. vs. Jayden Daniels debate for the Patriots at No. 3.
• Jordy McElroy (Patriots Wire) 5 reasons why the Patriots should trade up to No. 1 overall and draft a QB.
• Taylor Kyles and Mike Kadlick share their Patriots Free Agency wish list.
• Taylor Kyles’ Patriots Coach Tracker: Bengals QB Coach Dan Pitcher to interview for OC position.
• Matt Dolloff considers which offensive coordinator is the right fit for the Patriots.
• Dan Kelley (PatriotsFootballNow) Why aren’t all NFL Championships counted equally?

NATIONAL NEWS

• Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) Patriots coach Jerod Mayo plans to ‘burn cash’ this offseason: Potential big-money targets for 2024.
• Cody Benjamin (CBS Sports) AFC, NFC Championship times, TV, streaming, predictions for conference finales.
• Jeffri Chadiha (NFL.com) The First Read, Championship Sunday: One question for each advancing/eliminated NFL playoff team.
• Charles Robinson (Yahoo! Sports) Brock Purdy vs. Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson is teasing a ‘game manager’ vs. ‘game-changer’ Super Bowl.
• Staff (USA Today) Lamar Jackson vs. Patrick Mahomes is only one of the storylines for AFC championship.
• Ben Solak (The Ringer) The Hot Read, Divisional Round: The eternal agony of the Buffalo Bills; Plus: scenes from the Lions’ win over the Buccaneers, Lamar Jackson punches the Ravens’ ticket to the AFC championship game, thoughts on the NFL coaching carousel, awards picks, and more.
• John Breech (CBS Sports) Breaking down NFL divisional round plus 13 crazy playoff stats: Bills’ Super Bowl window might be closing.
• Gilberto Manzano (SI) NFL Divisional Round winners and losers: Ravens dominate, Bills fall to Chiefs again.
• Bernd Buchmasser suggests Josh Allen is in danger of becoming the Dan Marino of his NFL generation.
• Joseph Acosta (SB Nation) The Bills’ fake punt to Damar Hamlin never had a chance vs. Chiefs in NFL playoffs.
• Grant Gordon (NFL.com) Titans plan to hire Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as head coach.
• Bucky Brooks (NFL.com) 2024 NFL mock draft 1.0. Pats pick LSU QB Jayden Daniels at No. 3.

BELICHICK

• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Other potential suitors are lurking for Bill Belichick.
• Dan Kelley (PatriotsFootballNow) New England Patriots all-time staff and roster of the Bill Belichick Era.