Even with the team at 3-9, there is something to be thankful for.
Over the last two decades, Bill Belichick’s “the real football season starts after Thanksgiving” has been repeated constantly throughout New England. With his Patriots teams far more often than not competing for playoff positioning, that meant that the season was about to heat up and the stakes due to increase every week.
The times have changed quite a bit. Last season — Belichick’s last with the Patriots — saw the team at 2-8 and virtually out of postseason contention. Under his successor Jerod Mayo, little has changed: the Patriots are 3-9 and are guaranteed to finish a third straight season with a losing record.
From that perspective, times are not good in New England. And there are legitimate concerns about the state of the organization, too, starting at the very top and going through the depths of the roster and staff.
And yet, not all is bad. So, this Thanksgiving, we thought it would be fitting to shine a light on the positives. Because for every green bean casserole, there also is some stuffing to be thankful for.
Let’s find out what that stuffing looks like for Patriots fans.
Drake Maye
The obvious starting point when it comes to a “glass-half-full”-type perspective on the Patriots. Even though the third overall selection in this year’s draft has had his fair share of rookie mistakes, Drake Maye has shown why New England identified him as the man to lead the team into the future.
More than anything, Maye — possibly for the first time since Tom Brady’s departure after the 2019 season — has given the Patriots hope that better times are ahead. At only 22, he is the youngest current starting quarterback in the NFL and his highs have been enticing.
Outside of his natural arm talent and physical tools, which have allowed him to become one of the league’s best out-of-structure quarterbacks already, he also seems to have developed nicely in terms of his mental makeup and leadership. Maye seems to have fully embraced his status as the face of the franchise both on and off the field, which has allowed him to take command of the offense and the team.
“I’m behind Drake. Everybody’s behind Drake,” said cornerback Christian Gonzalez about Maye earlier this month.
If he can keep up his current trajectory, and the Patriots are able to build a proper team around him, he could develop into one of the NFL’s upper-echelon passers. Yes, the sample size is small and a lot can happen, but there is no denying his promise.
Young talent
Maye is the headline name, but far from the only young talent the Patriots have under contract. One player who needs to be mentioned in the same breath when it comes to his foundational talent is cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
Only 16 games into his NFL career, the 2023 first-round draft pick already has proven himself one of the best cornerbacks in football. A contender for All-Pro and Pro Bowl designations, as well as the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award, Gonzalez is a legitimate shutdown player at one of the most important position on the roster.
As things currently stand, Gonzalez is the best overall player the Patriots have. Blue-chip talent at quarterback and cornerback is a good starting point for the future.
Other promising youngsters such as defensive linemen Christian Barmore and Keion White, running back Rhamondre Stevenson, and core special teamer Brenden Schooler are also among the best their respective positions have to offer right now. The same is true for the more experienced Michael Onwenu and Anfernee Jennings along the offensive and defensive lines, respectively.
Other young players to mention as potential future contributors are wideout DeMario Douglas, O-lineman Cole Strange, cornerback Marcus Jones, safety Marte Mapu, and punter Bryce Baringer. Long story short, New England has some talent to work with.
The same might be true on the sidelines as well. So far, however, the Jerod Mayo-led coaching staff has had its fair share of problems. Some of which may be traced back to inexperience or a lack of general quality across the width and depth of the roster, but the group has yet to prove itself.
Christian Barmore’s health
It goes without saying that every injured player on the road to a full recovery is a reason to be thankful for. In that sense, Christian Barmore is a stand-in for other such as Cole Strange, David Andrews or Ja’Whaun Bentley.
His situation is still different, though. Diagnosed with blood clots in late July, his future was very much in question at that point. However, the 2021 second-round draft pick made his way back onto the field just four months after his health scare.
He only has appeared in two games so far, and is not yet at the same level he showcased last year — when he laid the foundation for the four-year, $84 million contract extension he signed this offseason — but he is on a positive path. That is all you can ask for from a player in his position, and something to be thankful for indeed.
Offseason capital for 2025
Time will tell what Eliot Wolf and the Patriots front office have planned, but they will have some serious capital at their disposal next offseason — capital to further build the team around the aforementioned young cornerstones; Drake Maye on offense as well as Christian Barmore and Christian Gonzalez on defense.
For starters, New England is currently on the path to a top-4 draft pick. No matter if the team would stay put or move around, that high a pick would be a major asset to have (particularly with the quarterback position locked up).
In addition, the team will also have plenty of salary cap space to work with. According to our friend Miguel Benzan, they would be $125 million under a projected $276 million cap — enough to make some significant moves, especially considering that the biggest names on the internal free agents list are Jacoby Brissett, Deatrich Wise Jr. and Jonathan Jones.
Of course, New England had plenty of cap space to work with in 2024 as well; the investments were mostly focused on keeping talent in-house, with the outside additions a mixed bag. Still, the circumstances would favor the Patriots to be quite active in 2025.
The greatest run in NFL history
If you are reading this, chances are you got to experience at least the tail-end of the greatest dynastic run the NFL has ever seen. Yes, the days of the Brady/Belichick dynasty are firmly in the rear-view mirror, but the memorable moments it produced are enough to last a lifetime: six Super Bowl wins as well as some of the best games you will ever see.
Being able to witness that is something that cannot be taken for granted. Other fanbases have to wait decades to feel the thrill of championship, or never experience it at all. Patriots fans lived the dream over and over again.
The golden days are but a memory now, and other teams have picked up the slack in the Patriots’ place, but what happened in the 2000s and 2010s will not be forgotten.
Not the Jets
Maybe you are not the nostalgic type. In that case, how about a little schadenfreude?
The Patriots’ No. 1 rival through the years, the New York Jets, are going through a rough patch. And that may be an understatement. They entered the season with Super Bowl hopes and went on to fire both their head coach and general manager while going 3-8 so far this year; the playoffs are an unrealistic goal now and the future is not looking much better either.
Besides the structural rebuild the organization will have to go through — led by an owner with, let’s say, questionable credentials — the Jets are also tied to a quarterback who very much seems to be over the hill but whose contract is on the books through 2029. While franchises have shown they can quickly turn things around with the right hires and additions, Gang Green seems to be in a difficult (and undesirable) spot.
Bummer.
A-grade Patriots and NFL coverage
Boston is infamous for its sports talk radio and oftentimes overly pessimistic and reactionary coverage of its sports teams. There is plenty of quality available when it comes to Patriots news and analysis, however, if only you look closely enough.
Whether it is the work done by ESPN’s Mike Reiss, the Boston Globe’s Christopher Price, Evan Lazar and Mike Dussault over at patriots.com, or smaller outlets and social media accounts such as the aforementioned Miguel Benzan (@patscap) or the Patriots Uniform Tracker, there is a whole local media world worth exploring that goes beyond the traditional outlets.
(Of course, we here at Pats Pulpit also hope you see us in that same category.)
The same is true on an NFL-wide scale, by the way. Whether it is J.P. Acosta, Mark Schofield, Brett Kollmann and E.J. Snyder, J.T. O’Sullivan, Brandon Thorn, Coach Vass, Mina Kimes, Nate Tice, Charles McDonald, or the nflfastR community — to name but a few — it has never been easier to find good content related to film study, advanced statistics, and game analysis.
And with all of that being said: Happy Thanksgiving, friends!