On the surface, things have lined up rather nicely for the Patriots here in the 2025 NFL offseason. The team spent lavishly in free agency, giving out more than $300 million in contract commitments and putting together what has the potential to be one of the AFC’s top defenses. And there is second-year quarterback Drake Maye, who has shown enough in his brief NFL career to make many think he has star potential.
Throw in a remarkably soft schedule and the Patriots, coming off back-to-back four-win seasons, have very high expectations despite such paltry recent results. Most betting sites have the Patriots at 8.5 wins for their over/under, meaning an over bet puts them above .500 on the season.
That has the Patriots–or, at least, their fans–thinking playoffs this season. That would be a remarkable leap given the team’s recent history, but it is a similar situation to those of, say, the Chargers (five wins in 2023) and the Commanders (four wins in 2023), both of whom rallied into the playoffs last year on the backs of easy schedules and coaching changes.
Patriots’ Gronkowski: ‘Mike Vrabel Doing an Excellent Job’
For Patriots great Rob Gronkowski, this year’s team in New England should be able to follow a similar path to that of the Chargers (who hired Jim Harbaugh) or Commanders (Dan Quinn).
“I think Mike Vrabel is doing an excellent job so far. I mean, you really can’t question any of the moves that he has done this year in free agency and the draft. I think they smacked it out of the park,” Gronkowski said.
“What we’ve really got to see now, is how coach Vrabel can bring this team together, so they can have that chemistry to go out and play together as a team and go out there and win games, and possibly have a shot at making the playoffs and winning the division. And if not winning the division, at least getting a Wild Card so that they can compete in the playoffs.
“That’s what he has to do, he has to bring this team together. Because all the moves in the offseason have been done.”
Winning the division, of course, might be a stretch, given Buffalo’s recent dominance of the AFC East, with five straight division crowns. But 10-7 was good enough to get into the 2024 AFC playoffs, and it should be good enough in 2025, too.
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