Robert Kraft Hopeful That Last Year's Underperforming Free Agents Can Step Up In 2022
BOSTON (CBS) -- On Tuesday morning, Patriots owner Robert Kraft slyly noted that teams that garner all the headlines in free agency don't necessarily get all the wins in the season that follows.
That answer was given when asked about the Patriots' quiet free-agency period this year, with New England retaining some core members of the team while losing a number of players to deals elsewhere. What went unspoken in that answer is the fact that the Patriots were that headline-generating team a year ago, doling out what was at the time the most free-agency dollars in NFL history.
That free-agency spree did help the Patriots improve from seven wins (in a 16-game season) to 10 wins (in a 17-game season), but it wasn't necessarily a blinding success.
This year, Kraft is hoping that some of last year's free agents who didn't quite live up to expectations will make up for the lack of additions this year.
"I hope that some of the free agents who we brought in who didn't perform as high as we would have liked last year will [produce] this year because they've adjusted to the system," Kraft told The Athletic's Jeff Howe. "And we're making changes to take advantage of what they do best."
Kraft added: "We have a lot of talent that hasn't been tapped into yet in my opinion."
Surely, the owner had Nelson Agholor and Jonnu Smith in mind with such an answer.
Agholor was coming off a season with 48 receptions for 896 yards and eight touchdowns, but he caught just 37 passes for 473 yards and three touchdowns in his first year with the Patriots. It was his least productive season since 2016.
Smith was coming off career highs in his final year in Tennessee, with 41 receptions for 448 yards and eight touchdowns. But in New England, he caught just 28 passes for 294 yards and one touchdown.
With the duo counting more than $28.5 million against the cap, the Patriots need production out of those two in the passing game. That's been known from the fanbase, and the owner has now laid out his own expectations as well.