Jerod Mayo believes Patriots still have options to fill needs after underwhelming free agency – Boston Herald

ORLANDO, Fla. — Perhaps expectations were set too high for the Patriots as they entered free agency for the first time in a post-Bill Belichick era.

De facto general manager Eliot Wolf spoke of “weaponizing” the offense at the NFL Scouting Combine, and head coach Jerod Mayo said the team had cash to burn shortly after being hired with the league’s most salary cap space.

Mayo laughed about that comment Monday at the NFL Annual Meeting, saying it was “terrible” but that he didn’t regret it.

“Look, I’m a first-year head coach. I didn’t mean, like, burn some cash,” Mayo said. “I know we have a lot of cash to utilize, but we are going to utilize it the right way. We have to be very convicted when we do spend that cash. But ownership has done a good job of just letting Eliot and I know that we have the cash to spend — just try to spend it smart.”

The Patriots were busy in free agency but didn’t make any splash additions. They re-signed wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Jalen Reagor, tight end Hunter Henry, offensive tackles Mike Onwenu and Tyrone Wheatley Jr., cornerback Alex Austin, quarterback Nathan Rourke and linebackers Christian Elliss, Anfernee Jennings and Josh Uche and placed the transition tag on safety Kyle Dugger. They added quarterback Jacoby Brissett, offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, running back Antonio Gibson, wide receiver K.J. Osborn, tight end Austin Hooper, guard Nick Leverett, linebacker Sione Takitaki, defensive tackle Armon Watts and safety Jaylinn Hawkins.

But they still enter April without a future starting quarterback or obvious starters at “X” receiver and left tackle.

“The media, the fans, everyone wants that big signing. But at the same time, as we continued to put this team together, I think there has to be a process,” Mayo said. “It has to be a methodical process. Look, when there is a guy we want to get, the Krafts have already told us they’ll spend the money. I would say offensively this year, we were very picky as far as the players we were getting. At the same time, that wasn’t really a really deep offensive free-agent class to even make that type of splash. Now in saying that, the draft is coming up. There will still be conversations as far as trades and things like that. And guys will be released. So this is a process that’s going to go on all the way until after the draft.”

Mayo said he’s confident that the Patriots can still fill needs at quarterback, wide receiver and offensive tackle before the season begins. He also said the team had targets that they wanted in free agency that didn’t work out.

One of those was free-agent wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who accepted a four-year, $92 million offer from the Titans instead. The Patriots obviously wanted to sign Ridley, but the feeling has to be mutual in free agency. And beyond cash, there’s not much the Patriots can currently offer to draw players to New England.

Mayo is aware of that and knows the organization has to rebuild to become a destination.

“One thing I would say is you go through the draft, you want to get guys that are magnets,” Mayo said. “I played the ultimate magnet in Tom Brady, where guys wanted to play for Tom, with Tom, and with the team. So it kinda gets skewed. It’s kind of now at the other end of the spectrum. What pieces do we have to attract those outside guys? Once again, if we draft a guy, you come here. So that has to be our philosophy as we continue to put things together.”

The Patriots currently own the Nos. 3, 34 and 68 overall picks in the first three rounds of the draft. In an ideal world, they would hit on a quarterback at No. 3, and then fill those needs at wide receiver and offensive tackle with their next two picks. But there’s no guarantee that the right players will be available in those spots.

Mayo believes a trade is still on the table to land a wide receiver after missing on Ridley.

“One hundred percent. We’re still open on the trade market,” Mayo said. “But I would also say this is a pretty deep class as far as receivers are concerned. So It’s all on the table right now and hopefully, as we continue to get closer to the draft, Eliot is fielding calls, the scouts are fielding calls. As we get closer to the draft, it starts to be a clearer picture. That’s really the goal.”

Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins has requested a trade after receiving the franchise tag. 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk has also been a subject of trade rumors.