Patriots Need To Use Their $59 Million Remaining Cap, GM Preaches Patience

The New England Patriots lead the entire NFL in cap space remaining heading into the 2025 season. With more than $59 million left to spend, and coming off back to back four win seasons, the Patriots cannot afford to enter the season with this much money in reserve. It would be offensive for the team not to take a few big stabs.

After a few of the leagues biggest names requested trades from their current team’s, the pressure is once again on the front office to make some more moves before the season starts. General manager Elliot Wolf was asked about it during his radio appearance on Sirius XM NFL.

“It comes in two prongs. No. 1, do we need a guy to help us practice and get through the preseason? Like a younger guy,” Wolf said. “Or do we really need veteran help at [any] position? There’s not a ton of veteran help on the street right now.”

While it was clear this answer was in response to a question about the compiling offensive line injuries, this is not the only place the Patriots can improve. And with so many super stars holding out, eliminating the obstacle of money can be a great catalyst in bringing an All Pro player to Patriot Place.

“Then you start looking at trades and our pro staff is constantly looking at other teams’ rosters, working the phones, just trying to decide if there’s another team that has a surplus of players at a certain position and a deficit somewhere else, then maybe we can work a player-for-player trade. So it’s a constant updating,” Wolf concluded.

Super Stars Holding Out Across The NFL

The most acquirable super star feels like Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals. Hendrickson has posted a league leading 17.5 sacks in back to back seasons for the Cats, yet ownership does not want to pay the man.

At 30-years-old, Hendrickson has one more contract (4-5 years) of peak performance left in him. Ownership wants him to play this year on a one-year, $18 million deal, nearly half of what he is worth. This is a situation that absolutely could be shaken up with a player or pick to sent to Cincy in exchange for taking the financial burden off their plate.

Next are two players I put in the same category, super stars that really aren’t going anywhere. When it comes to Terry McLaurin and Micah Parsons, I see their trade requests as nothing but a negotiation tactic. Yes, the Patriots are the “favorites” in the betting odds to land both players, but that is only because they can afford to do so.

I am not getting my hopes up for either of those players in Foxboro because, at the end of the day, I just don’t see them leaving.

Pay Christian Gonzalez Early

I always say you can’t take it with you. Gonzo is a 2023 draft pick, meaning after next season his rookie deal will be over. Yes there is a fifth year option but that is often reserved for players who are on the cusp of proving their worth. Gonzo does not fall in that category.

At just 23-years-old, Christian Gonzalez has a case for a top three corner in the league. His contract is going to be massive and by no means can you let him hit free agency. I’m not saying you do it in summer of year three, but at some point this year I’d like to see Gonzo get locked down.

By doing it early you can get him on a team friendly deal and, in doing so, you know how much you can spend without having to plan new contracts around a potential deal with the corner. If you’re going to sit on all this cash, why not give it to the team’s best player.