3 surprise cuts the Patriots could make this offseason

The New England Patriots have a ton of salary cap space and a lot of necessary changes coming in this offseason. It could lead to some familiar names getting sent to free agency prematurely.

The New England Patriots are going into the offseason with big holes across the depth chart. Obviously, the biggest one is at quarterback. Cam Newton was not the answer. Jarrett Stidham was somehow even worse.

However, despite the problems at quarterback, the Patriots have holes everywhere. The biggest agenda item is to add talent to the skill positions, but not far down the list is to move on from a previous era.

This offseason might be bittersweet for Patriots fans. With north of $60 million in cap space already, it’s going to be an offseason of spending in New England. That also means they will likely move out some veterans who might not fit the timeline to be contenders again.

Bill Belichick has said he doesn’t want to leave his successor with a rebuilding project, but the Patriots have a lot of work to do to make that happen. It might be smart to tear it down to eventually build it back up. It might make even more sense to set some of these veterans loose so the young players get a chance to take their spot.

That might mean some long-time, and even some lifetime Patriots are going to go elsewhere. The Patriots don’t need to add cap space, but they might want to add space on the roster. Then, they could really go star shopping in free agency and on the trade market.

$60 million is a lot, but if they end up getting a competent quarterback, that’s going to cut into that price significantly. There’s room to make moves on this roster, but don’t be surprised if these three beloved Patriots end up playing for another franchise in 2021.