New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP
It’s show time.
The two-day legal tampering period ahead of NFL teams signing free agents opens Monday.
And for the Patriots, in their current state, there’s only one way to approach the league’s annual wooing of players: Like their lives depend on it.
That’s the level of urgency required.
The Patriots have to be willing to overpay the top players in positions of need. They have to go in with the mindset where it’s okay to take chances and do something that might be considered stupid to land the desired target.
That’s the only way to dig themselves out of the hole they’re in. That’s the only way to lure players whose first choice isn’t to come to New England.
They have to spend well over the top, even if that’s not the smartest way to conduct business.
“I think most guys pick the most money. It’s rare when they don’t. And if they don’t, the money is still close. That’s been my experience,” CBS and Westwood One analyst Ross Tucker told MassLive last week when asked about landing free agents. “Plus with New England having (Mike) Vrabel and Drake Maye, they’ve got enough to sell.”
This is the beginning of a critical stretch for the Patriots. It’s an important first step for Vrabel and the rest of the team’s braintrust.
Last year, the Patriots weren’t a draw in free agency, even though they had plenty of cash to burn. Outside of re-signing a slew of in-house free agents, the Patriots struck out with the A-listers.
With a talent-starved team, Vrable & Co. need to change the narrative.
Armed with the most money ($127 million in cap space) of any NFL team, a promising young quarterback in Maye, and an established head coach in Vrabel, they still need to be willing to pay crazy money to draw the free agents they want and desperately need.
That’s how it’s going to be until the Patriots re-establish themselves as a winning team, a team players are more inclined to join when they hit the open market in years to come.
The Patriots understand what it’s going to take. But knowing, and doing, are two separate issues.
If the Patriots are unwilling to go the extra mile, if they’re uncomfortable hitting the stupid switch and going above and beyond, they won’t get the desired result.
That’s what happened last year. While they matched offers (see Calvin Ridley), they weren’t willing to exceed them.
At this stage, players of note aren’t coming to New England unless the Patriots loosen the purse strings beyond the norm.
“We’re not going to be frivolous. We’re going to do what we think is best. We have to do what’s necessary,” Eliot Wolf, the team’s executive vice president of personnel, said during his media session at the NFL’s scouting combine last week. “So last year we didn’t do enough of what was necessary. This year we have to do what’s necessary to improve the team.”
The last part is right. They have to do what’s necessary. Execution, however, is another matter. Wolf’s words can’t be lip service. They can’t ring hollow as free agency plays out.
Unlike trades, there aren’t assets involved when it comes to free agency. The Patriots don’t have to give up picks or surrender players. It’s all about the cash.
The Patriots have to forget about winning deals. It’s more about getting the necessary players.
Seeing the Baltimore Ravens re-sign offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley at the 11th hour was a gut punch, but the Patriots have to move on and find competent help at left tackle and pretty much everywhere else across the line.
Protecting Maye has to be high on the list of priorities, along with landing a difference-making receiver, an edge rusher and defensive line help.
The Patriots aren’t going to improve unless they’re willing to swing for the fences, and take a chance the targeted player will live up to expectations associated with a big-time contract.
If the player proves a bust, seemingly content with a big pay day, that’s the risk with overspending.
But, as the saying goes, never up, never in.
Vrabel has said repeatedly he wants to be “aggressive.”
Speaking with MassLive during the NFL scouting combine, however, he applied qualifiers to the degree of aggressiveness the Patriots will have.
“There’s a limit to what we will do, I would imagine,” Vrabel said. “Again, it’s free agency. You have to understand you’re probably going to overspend, per se. But we also have to use this as an avenue to strengthen our roster. It’s not the end-all-be all. It’s not the only answer. But it’s got to contribute to strengthen our roster.
“To say there’s an at-any-cost mentality (to sign free agents), I don’t think that.”
Only, that’s the mentality that’s needed. The Patriots can’t be content to pivot to Plan B, C, D etc. as they’ve suggested. They have to go on the attack to make all of their Plan As across the board a reality.
Money-wise, the Patriots are in the driver’s seat. They have it in their power to make it difficult for any free agent to say no.
Leaving the table if the stakes get too pricey shouldn’t be an option.
“We’re not afraid of anything. We just have to have options,” Vrabel said. “You can’t just say we’re going to get this guy because you’re not going to bat 1.000. Everybody else is trying to go for the same player.
“Having a really detailed plan and approach is probably the only thing to make sure of what we’re doing, which I believe we are. Being able to quickly pivot onto the next option and understand where that line is.
“We’re not going to sign players just to sign them. But making sure we have a plan in place for ‘OK, if it’s not this player, then is it this player? Or is it this player?’ That’s what I want to make sure that we do.”
Having a plan is fine. Just don’t settle because you’re not willing to do whatever it takes to land the prize. Or, in this instance, prizes. They can’t stop at one. They need multiple prizes.
The next 48-to-72 hours should be fascinating if the Patriots pull out all the stops to make a splash. They have to know they can’t get up off the mat, until they actually get in the fight.