PHOENIX — Robert Kraft agrees with the consensus of his franchise’s fanbase in wanting to see quarterback Drake Maye and cornerback Christian Gonzalez in Patriots uniforms long-term.

The Patriots can’t sign Maye to a new deal until next offseason, but they can extend Gonzalez at any point now since he’s entering his fourth NFL season.

“We have a salary cap, so we have a limit, so we have to think what’s best for the team in terms of timing of the signing, and of course, the earlier you do it, it’s believed it’s more economically satisfactory,” Kraft said when asked about the team’s mindset in getting ahead of the curve by extending key players. “But we leave that to Mike Vrabel, Eliot Wolf and our people making contract decisions. We’re lucky to have those two players, and I hope and believe they’ll be with us for the long term.”

The Patriots currently have over $35 million in cap space, per OverTheCap.com, even after handing out over $190 million in total value to free agents this offseason. Signing Gonzalez to an extension would require cash spending, but it wouldn’t significantly affect the Patriots’ salary cap until the deal truly kicked in for 2028 and beyond.

A deal for Gonzalez will likely reset the cornerback market. The Rams signed cornerback Trent McDuffie to a four-year, $124 million deal this offseason. Gonzalez will likely top McDuffie’s $31 million APY.

Kraft also addressed the team’s success in 2025, his expectations for next season and if he wants to see an 18th game added to the schedule.

2025 season

The Patriots far exceeded expectations in 2025, beating the Broncos in the AFC Championship before advancing to Super Bowl LX and losing to the Seahawks after they didn’t appear guaranteed to finish above .500 before the season began.

Count Kraft among those who didn’t see his team going to the Super Bowl in Year 1 with Vrabel as head coach.

“Last season was great,” Kraft said. “I’m newly married, and my wife couldn’t believe the difference of winning the way we did last year and how it changed the whole week. And she let Mike Vrabel know that, and it was an incentive, an extra incentive, for him to know.

“But in all seriousness, I think actually the team way overachieved what any of us thought would happen, and it was wonderful. And winning that (AFC) championship game in Denver when we had such a past history of difficulty winning in Denver was very special. So proud of this team, and most of them are still young.”

The Patriots did experience some roster turnover this offseason, releasing wide receiver Stefon Diggs, linebackers Jahlani Tavai and Anfernee Jennings and running back Antonio Gibson, trading center Garrett Bradbury and losing defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, edge defender K’Lavon Chaisson, safety Jaylinn Hawkins, tight end Austin Hooper and offensive tackle Vederian Lowe, among others, in free agency.

They found one-for-one replacements for many of those players, however, signing wide receiver Romeo Doubs, edge defender Dre’Mont Jones, guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, safety Kevin Byard, tight end Julian Hill and fullback Reggie Gilliam.

Expectations for 2026

Kraft is also realistic about the 2026 season.

One of the reasons why the Patriots were able to overachieve last season was because they faced one of the NFL’s weakest schedules.

That now flips. They take on five first-place divisional finishers in the Broncos, Steelers, Jaguars, Bears and Seahawks. They play the entire AFC West and NFC North, which feature other formidable opponents like the Chiefs, Chargers, Packers, Vikings and Lions, on top of divisional games against the Bills, Dolphins and Jets.

“Yeah, we have a pretty tough schedule, I think the hardest schedule, a lot of west coast travel,” Kraft said. “My objective every year is we make the playoffs. And as we saw last year, when you’re privileged to make the playoffs, anything can happen.”

Patriots’ new training facility

The Patriots have shifted their football offices into the recently opened 160,000 square foot New Balance Athletics Center, which will house player lockers and abut the team’s practice fields.

Kraft is excited for everyone, including the media, to see it.

“The training center, I think it’s very special, and I think it’ll give our coaching staff and players reason to celebrate the efficiency and what can go on there, and it’s right on the field,” Kraft said. “I’ll be very interested to get the reaction of all of you experts in the media when you see it, and how it compares to what our competition. I think it’s one of a kind.”

Potential 18-game schedule

Kraft continued to campaign for an 18-game season, saying he would like to see a second bye week added to the schedule, every team to play internationally and for a preseason game to be removed from the slate.

“I like it long term for the growth and development of the league, because to keep our league healthy and grow revenue, I think preseason games have not been what it used to be when we (first) owned the team,” Kraft said. “And changing to the 18 games and having that real content — and being mindful of player safety, I personally would like to see us have a second bye week. But then it would allow us to also grow the game internationally. We’d have every team in the league would play a game overseas, I think would be a lot more exciting for the fans to have an extra game rather than how the preseason games stack up.”

The Patriots could play internationally in the 2026 season. They have the Jaguars and Lions scheduled on the road this season. The Jaguars are set to play in London, while the Lions will play a road game in Munich this season.