A special season for the New England Patriots ended in disappointment Sunday night as they dropped Super Bowl LX 29-13 to the Seattle Seahawks. Now, attention quickly turns to the offseason where the Patriots will look to remodel the roster in hopes of getting over the final hurdle next season.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a busy week here on Pats Pulpit, with our focus on the conclusion of the Super Bowl loss and locker room clean out day as the Patriots break for the offseason. For anything else not covered previously, let\u2019s clean out the notebook. Welcome to this week\u2019s edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.<\/p>\n
Drake Maye sat roughly 10 feet to Mike Vrabel\u2019s right. Both at their post-game podiums inside a makeshift tent on the 49ers\u2019 practice fields in Santa Clara.<\/p>\n
Maye began to choke up while talking about his head coach. Vrabel, meanwhile, spoke about his quarterback with equal emotion and conviction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s over there talking about all the things he has to do to improve and what he could\u2019ve done better,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cI care deeply about him. I\u2019m confident they\u2019ll be back and they\u2019ll do everything they can to help this team. We won a lot of football games with the guys we have. Drake\u2019s a big reason why we\u2019re here. I can\u2019t wait to get back and coach him again.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a special sophomore season for the 23-year-old quarterback.<\/p>\n
Maye finished second in MVP voting and earned second-team All-Pro honors as he led the NFL in completion percentage (72.0), yards per attempt (8.9), and passer rating (113.5) among many other metrics.<\/p>\n
But on sport\u2019s biggest stage Sunday night, he wasn\u2019t at his best.<\/p>\n
Facing the Seahawks\u2019 top-ranked defense, Maye was sacked six times and turned the ball over three times. A majority of his 295 passing yards came in the fourth quarter after the Patriots had already punted on their first eight possessions (excluding an end-of-half kneel-down).<\/p>\n
Despite the struggles in his Super Bowl debut, Maye\u2019s teammates offered nothing but support for their quarterback afterward.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep going. Steph Curry. Keep going, keep shooting,\u201d veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. \u201cHe\u2019s 23 years old. It\u2019s a team effort. Come from my standpoint, I wish I could\u2019ve done more. It\u2019s hard playing quarterback. It\u2019s not a one-man band. He has a supporting cast. We needed to do a better job supporting him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s young, he did what he could, fought long, fought hard\u2026 I\u2019m just super proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe riding behind him, win or loss,\u201d safety Craig Woodson added. \u201cThat\u2019s the QB1. Man, we gonna rally behind him. He got all our love, support. This is just the beginning. I got full trust in him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maye told his teammates to remember the feeling of Sunday night and use the loss as fuel moving forward \u2014 fuel they hope will carry them back to this stage sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n
With Maye under center, there is plenty of reason to believe that return will come sooner.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Drake, man,\u201d veteran offensive tackle Morgan Moses said. \u201cDrake is an amazing human being outside of just being a great quarterback, man. He\u2019s literally been our MVP the whole season. As a young player, in year two, it\u2019s undeniable what he\u2019s been able to do this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe put the league on notice that there\u2019s a new quarterback in the AFC that you\u2019ve got to worry about. That\u2019s who he is, man.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the top storylines to follow this offseason will be the future of wide receiver Stefon Diggs in New England \u2014 one that the veteran acknowledged will not totally be up to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless they opt out of the contract, I anticipate being here,\u201d he said following the Super Bowl. \u201cI hope so. Love my guys. Hell of a year playing with them. We built some real family-like bonds, so I hope so. I don\u2019t control it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diggs made a remarkable impact on and off the field in his first season as a Patriot, becoming the team\u2019s first receiver to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark since 2019 while also being a key leadership piece in Mike Vrabel\u2019s locker room. But, a quiet playoff stretch in which he averaged just 27.5 yards per game coupled with a rising cap hit ($26.5 million) could led to New England looking elsewhere next season.<\/p>\n
A key date in the process will be Mar. 13, as Diggs has $6 million on his deal become guaranteed.<\/p>\n
In his final press conference of the season, Vrabel alluded to the difficult decisions the team will have to make this offseason. Diggs\u2019 case likely tops that list.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be some difficult decisions that we\u2019ll have to make, and we\u2019ll try to do them with the team\u2019s best interest in mind. As always, that\u2019ll never change,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cI appreciate what they did and how they came together, all the guys that came in from other places that maybe didn\u2019t start the year with us, and the different path and a different journey that each guy took.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond Diggs, other tough decisions may have to be made in the wide receiver room as Mack Hollins, Kayshon Boutte, and DeMario Douglas all enter the last years of their contracts. Center Garrett Bradbury, who became another key veteran voice in a special locker room, also falls on that list as he has no guaranteed money remaining on his deal.<\/p>\n
Among the decisions New England will make in the upcoming days and\/or weeks is officially naming a defensive coordinator. This one might not fall under the \u201cdifficult\u201d category, however, as current defensive play-caller Zak Kuhr is considered a heavy favorite to earn the role after growing in the position this season.<\/p>\n
That said, the Patriots will have to go through the league\u2019s process and satisfy the Rooney Rule to officially name a defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n
Since Drake Maye became the North Carolina Tar Heels full-time starting quarterback in 2022, he has gone on to have four different offensive coordinators in his next four seasons. So, entering year two with Josh McDaniels in New England is some welcomed continuity for the 23-year-old.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much more we can take with this offense and give me more tools and more answers at the line of scrimmage. With my capability to play the position, use my knowledge of the game and learn it from Coach [McDaniels] to get us in the best spot is only going to help us down the road,\u201c Maye said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to it, getting a chance to be in the \u2013 Lord-willing and knock on wood, the same offense for the second year. I\u2019m looking forward to that, and the sky\u2019s the limit for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
There has been plenty of discussion about rookie left tackle Will Campbell\u2019s performance in the Super Bowl last Sunday. Several former NFL linemen and offensive tackles have weighed in, with a common theme emerging: the 22-year-old has a bright future but needs to clean up his technique in certain areas.<\/p>\n
That group includes former Saints and Dolphins Pro Bowl tackle Terron Armstead. According to NFL Network\u2019s Cam Wolfe, Armstead has volunteered to work out with Campbell in Dallas this offseason.<\/p>\n
A strong athlete at the position, Armstead was known for his aggressive pass sets \u2014 an area that could benefit Campbell, particularly given his narrower build for the tackle spot.<\/p>\n
Third-round wide receiver Kyle Williams finished his rookie season with just 12 receptions for 225 yards and three touchdowns. The rookie showcased explosive speed and big-play ability, but a group of veteran receivers ahead of him on the depth chart limited both his opportunities and the chemistry he could build with quarterback Drake Maye.<\/p>\n
Entering year two, Williams understands how important the upcoming offseason will be and already has a clear plan. At the top of the list is adding muscle to his 5-foot-11, 190-pound frame to improve his play strength. He also wants to sharpen his work at the top of his routes to complement a strong release package off the line of scrimmage.<\/p>\n
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown knows what it\u2019s like to be in Drake Maye\u2019s shoes. Brown was on the losing end of the 2022 NBA Finals as the Celtics dropped the series to the Golden State Warriors. That led to him sending Maye a message while on a Twitch livestream.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurn all that hurt into fuel, and I promise you, you\u2019ll be better for it,\u201d Brown said. \u201cLevel up, come back even better. Could have been an MVP year, should have been an MVP Year for Drake Maye. I stand on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown and the Celtics eventually bounced back, winning the NBA Finals in 2024 \u2014 a similar script Maye and the Patriots now hope to follow.<\/p>\n
The New England Patriots\u2019 in-house content team debuted \u201cForged in Foxboro\u201d this offseason, a three-part series offering a behind-the-scenes look at Mike Vrabel\u2019s first months in charge \u2014 spanning free agency, the NFL Draft, the offseason program and training camp.<\/p>\n
With the season now complete, a fourth episode is expected to drop, featuring exclusive footage from the team\u2019s postseason run.<\/p>\n
Setting up the week ahead<\/p>\n
The offseason begins for the New England Patriots, and as Bill Belichick infamously said after winning Super Bowl LI: the Patriots are \u201cfive weeks behind\u201d in preparation for next season. It will be a quick transition for the coaching staff and front office, as Mike Vrabel and Co. are expected to be at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis next week.<\/p>\n
New England will also begin the process of filling out current\/future holes on their coaching staff \u2014 perhaps starting with defensive coordinator \u2014 and getting to work on any player contracts that need attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A special season for the New England Patriots ended in disappointment Sunday night as they dropped Super Bowl…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":753751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2050],"tags":[7,1167,249,52640,91604,103282,1095,2326,2094,6,208],"class_list":{"0":"post-753750","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-england-patriots","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-new-england","10":"tag-new-england-patriots","11":"tag-new-england-patriots-analysis","12":"tag-new-england-patriots-playoffs","13":"tag-new-england-patriots-super-bowl","14":"tag-new-england-patriots-opinion","15":"tag-newengland","16":"tag-newenglandpatriots","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-patriots"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116074457722642844","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/753751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}