It's safe to say that's not how the New England Patriots envisioned Super Bowl 60 going for them. Drake Maye and the Patriots offensive line were completely eaten alive throughout the contest against the Seahawks, and the dam finally broke in the fourth quarter. If there's any silver lining, though, it's that Maye is still just 23 years old, Mike Vrabel just finished year one as the head coach in Foxborough, and the future is bright. That future, however, might include some new faces as some familiar ones are shown the door.
The loss in the Super Bowl was heartbreaking and, frankly, kind of embarrassing. That's going to be used as fuel to motivate this team moving forward, but it should also be fuel in the offseason. The Patriots need to be aggressive in trying to upgrade their weak points on the roster. To do that, though, they'll likely have to say goodbye to these free agents, and to some potential cut candidates as well.
Patriots free agents that won't return in New England
TE Austin Hooper
Now that Austin Hooper is set to hit free agency, it feels like a near formality that he's going to end up being on another NFL team's roster next season. That's not to completely hand-wave a veteran tight end who's produced 739 yards and five touchdowns over the past two seasons, but this is an offseason in which the Patriots need to be aggressive in how they build the roster around Drake Maye while he's still on a rookie contract.
That is to say, they need to be aiming higher than someone like Hooper at tight end. He's a fine player, but I don't think there's anyone watching football on a weekly basis in the fall who would say that he's a difference-maker for this offense. He'll be coveted because of his reliability and experience. But at the end of the day, I see the Patriots looking more intently at making a splash with their pass-catchers, not trying to bring someone like Hooper back into the fray.
OL Thayer Munford Jr.
There really isn't a ton to say when it comes to the future of Thayer Munford Jr. While New England certainly invested in building the offensive line in front of Drake Maye coming into this season, Munford was an addition that was nothing more than depth. And after seeing what happened against Seattle in the Super Bowl, there's reason to believe that they will again be investing in the trenches — and I suspect that they'll have their sights set much higher than on someone like Munford.
Make no mistake, Munford is a fine player, but he also played fewer than 150 snaps on the season and doesn't feel like he'll be a priority for the Patriots this offseason. At the end of the day, he ultimately feels like he'll be part of the offseason turnstile of personnel and get another crack at being a starter or a swing tackle for one of the other 31 franchises.
EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson
Just on the surface, K'Lavon Chaisson presents a difficult proposition for the Patriots alone. Yes, he's been solid in terms of sack production this season. More so, he was able to turn that up a notch in the postseason, registering three sacks in the playoffs. But on the whole, he's made splash plays, but hasn't been down-to-down all that consistent, and has been a net negative when asked to defend the run overall.
Having said that, as teams look for sack production, there's at least some reason to believe that New England might like to have Chaisson back in the building next season. To that same token, however, there's also reason to believe that there will be no shortage of other teams who will be vying for his services as well in free agency.
Just based on the Patriots seem to be operating, I think they have "their" price for Chaisson this offseason on the open market, and my best estimation is that another team will best that price. That means he'll be gone, but it will give New England a necessary avenue to start investing more aggressively in their edge pass rushers moving forward.
Potential cut and trade candidates on their way out from the Patriots
TE Hunter Henry
There's only one relatively substantial cap-saving cut that I could see the Patriots making this offseason (there are plenty of other smaller ones, of course), and that's to cut ties with Hunter Henry. While Henry has continued to be a valuable player for the passing offense, he's also still not a world-beater at the position. More pressingly, he's also not worth the $11.75 million that he's owed next year.
Having said that, the Patriots could recoup $9.25 million of that and take on just a $2.5 million dead cap hit if they were to cut (more likely) or trade the veteran tight end. Again, that's not necessarily ideal and, given that I see them also moving on from Hooper, it would require some investment this offseason in the position by New England.
However, when it comes down to dollars and cents, the value with Hunter doesn't match up with his contract. And the Patriots could likely spend that money more wisely as they try to upgrade around their young quarterback and playmakers.
WR Pop Douglas
Much like with the edge rusher group, one of the clear talent deficiencies of the Patriots roster remains at wide receiver. Yes, adding Stefon Diggs helped the cause, and there are some solid role players, but there's still a lacking overall strength with this group, and if New England aims to remedy that issue going into 2026, then someone like Pop Douglas could find himself on the chopping block.
When you simply look at the financials, while it's not substantial savings, it's notable that the Pats would save almost all of the $3.683 million that Douglas is owed next season by cutting or trading the gadget receiver ($3.605 million, to be exact). While New England isn't hurting for cap space, there are moves like this made on the margins that are always used to give a team and front office even more flexibility.
Douglas has been fine in this group as currently constructe, but the Patriots simply have to be dreaming bigger. We saw in the Super Bowl that the receivers simply weren't separating to the degree that Drake Maye and the offense needed them to. That's the type of thing that sparks offseason change, and Douglas would make a ton of sense as a candidate to be let loose.
EDGE Anfernee Jennings
Anfernee Jennings was a third-round pick by the Patriots back in the 2020 draft, and has been around since then as well. The problem is that, while he's been a fine player, he's not necessarily been anything but that throughout his career with New England. And with his deal only carrying $1 million of guaranteed money next season on a $4.8 million cap hit, he makes sense as a potential cut or trade candidate in the offseason.
As mentioned, my read is that Vrabel and Wolf will make a strong effort this offseason to dramatically improve the edge rushing group for the Patriots going into next year. To do that, it means saving some money and then finding upgrades either in the draft or free agency.
Put simply, the Pats haven't seen Jennings be the player they likely hoped he'd be, particularly as a pass rusher, with just 7.5 regular-season sacks in 75 career games. It's an easy spot where New England could look to upgrade, and that's why he stands out as someone that the Patriots could easily look to move on from this offseason.