New England Patriots
“With the culture we’re building here, you can see from this season alone it’s some good stuff going on here.”
Carlton Davis expects the Patriots to be big players this offseason. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)
Amid the pain of a season-ending loss in Super Bowl LX against the Seahawks, Patriots veteran cornerback Carlton Davis struck an optimistic tone in his postgame musings.
“It’s our first year together. Nobody thought we would be here. We put the league on notice,” Davis said on Sunday night. “Obviously we didn’t get the job done and [expletive] stings. [Expletive] is never going to not sting. But we’ve got a bright future, man.
“We’ve got a lot of great young players. Coming in this [expletive] and taking the league by storm. Having a new coaching staff, a lot of new free agents. Something that’s really unheard of. So [expletive] hurts, but I’ve got a feeling we’ll be back.”
As the Patriots cleared out their lockers on Tuesday at Gillette Stadium, Davis continued to focus on the upside of this team moving forward — especially if the team can attract more talent this offseason.
“For sure,” Davis said when asked if the Patriots are poised to be a favored destination moving forward. “With the culture we’re building here, you can see from this season alone it’s some good stuff going on here. Happy to be a part of this organization, and I’m proud of what we did this year.
“It was phenomenal to come in as a team who got a new coaching staff, new free agents, it’s just like a new rebuild, and to have so much success so early, it’s amazing.”
New England is well-positioned to add to a depth chart that fell just one win short of a Super Bowl title in the 2025 season.
Beyond the appeal of playing for a contending team anchored by a franchise QB in Drake Maye and the reigning NFL Coach of the Year in Mike Vrabel, New England also has $42.7 million in cap space (per OverTheCap) this offseason and could free up more spending capital if they restructure some of their current contracts with guaranteed money in place.
New England only has six pending free agents on its roster, although a hefty chunk of change will need to be allocated toward a potential contract extension for Christian Gonzalez and possibly re-signing players like K’Lavon Chaisson, Jaylinn Hawkins, and Khyiris Tonga.
Still, the Patriots should have the means to make a few key additions, with their recent success potentially putting them over the top when it comes to free-agent bidding wars and other offseason endeavors.
“If you’re a Patriots fan — here’s what you have to be excited about,” NFL insider Dianna Russini said last week. “You often lose players in free agency because people don’t want to live in Boston, they don’t want to live up north. … But now, you guys are back on the map as a place that the players want to be because they’re watching it, they’re seeing it.
“Social media, as much as we mock it, I think helps the cause here, and they’re seeing the way these guys love each other, and it’s a family.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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