Jerod Mayo says the Patriots are "ready to burn some cash" this offseason
FOXBORO -- Jerod Mayo is hard at work putting his coaching staff together in New England. Attention will shift to the Patriots' roster soon enough, and when it does, Mayo is promising a busy offseason.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft has told Mayo that the team will be making full use of its cap space this offseason, according to the new head coach.
"We're bringing in talent, 1,000 percent," Mayo told WEEI's The Greg Hill Show on Monday. "We have a lot of cap space and cash. We're ready to burn some cash!"
Now there's something we haven't heard from a Patriots head coach in a long, long time. While Bill Belichick had been critical of the team's spending in recent years, he never really gave away the team's intentions when it came to free agency. In his first interview as head coach in place of Belichick on the Boston radio airwaves, Mayo made it clear that the Patriots will be spending this offseason.
And Mayo is not joking when he says the Patriots will have cash to burn. New England will enter the offseason with just shy of $70 million in cap space, after ranking 30th in the NFL in cash spending last season.
The Pats can start making their pitch to free agents on March 11, when the NFL's legal tampering period begins. NFL free agency officially kicks off two days later on March 13 when the 2024 league year begins.
While the Patriots should be able to make some big splashes in free agency, most of the focus will be on what New England is able to do with the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Mayo also promised some big things with that selection on Monday.
"I would tell you we're going to take the best available player for the biggest need of the team," he said.
Mayo made some waves on social media shortly after being introduced as New England's new head coach last week, when he heavily insinuated that the Patriots will be taking a quarterback with that third overall pick.
