Patriots: 3 way-too-early bold predictions for 2023 season
By Nick Villano
The New England Patriots missed the playoffs after losing a win-and-in game against the Buffalo Bills. What comes next for this once-great franchise?
The New England Patriots revealed some things about the 2023 season already. Bill Belichick will return to be the head coach. Mac Jones might not. Everything in between is up in the air. The Patriots have a ton of free agents on the roster, more than 20 actually. Many are starters, but is it actually bad for the Patriots to revamp this roster?
It’s early. The NFL Playoffs haven’t even started. It’s been days since the Patriots’ season ended. However, the NFL Draft is in just over three months, and free agency begins in two. The roster conversations have already begun. This team needs more talent if it wants to get back to long-term winning ways. To do that, the Patriots need to start strategizing their talent plan now.
Bold predictions for Patriots 2023: Patriots have a legit starting quarterback
Mac Jones won’t be the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots in 2023. Honestly, it’s not even his fault. Matt Patricia is not an offensive coordinator. Heck, he’s barely an offensive line coach. However, this wasn’t entirely Patricia’s fault. Mac Jones couldn’t make the throws this year. He had talent. While he didn’t have a No. 1 wide receiver, he had four that were WR2 caliber.
Jones will go somewhere else through trade, and he will likely do well. However, there’s an interesting offseason coming. Lamar Jackson is the type of intriguing quarterback that Belichick might want to work with. It’s the Cam Newton offense dialed up to 11. There’s also the Jimmy Garoppolo free agency that’s incoming.
The Patriots are going to make a move. Maybe there’s a surprise trade out there, as well. The Patriots have 11 picks in the first round. We can see them using some to upgrade at the most important position.