The New England Patriots entered this offseason with the most cap space, and while they might not have signed a ton of impact free agents, they've made sure to retain some of their own players who were hitting the market and extend some who were already under contract for 2024.
Mike Ownenu, Kendrick Bourne, Joshua Uche, Hunter Henry and Kyle Dugger were all brought back while head coach Jerod Mayo and executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf made sure to address David Andrews, Christian Barmore and Rhamondre Stevenson before they were going to hit free agency.
With the Patriots still having the most cap space remaining in the NFL who could be next?
Matthew Judon
Judon is entering the final year of his deal with a void deal currently only the books for 2025. He's coming off of a season-ending with a torn biceps, and while he's said a lot of the right things, there's still a chance that he holds in when training camp starts.
Jonathan Jones
After missing most of the 2021 season due to a shoulder injury, Jones has bounced back with two solid years in 2022 and 2023 while switching from slot to outside. He may be on the outside again opposite Christian Gonzalez this season, or he could be kicked back to his natural position. At 30 he's final year of his deal with a $12.57 million cap hit.
Davon Godchaux
Godchaux is in the final year of his current contract and appears to be holding in for an extension after not participating at the mandatory minicamp sessions attended by the media. He's been all right in his three seasons with New England, but with the team moving on from Lawrence Guy and paying Barmore, Godchaux feels like he deserves some more money for the role he'll play.
Deatrich Wise
Wise is also entering the final season of his contract, as the soon-to-be 30-year-old has played seven seasons for the Patriots since being drafted in the fourth round of out Arkansas. He's been extremely durable and a team captain over the last two years, so New England may want to keep him around to continue showing what type of players they reward.
Brenden Schooler
With Matthew Slater retiring this offseason, the special teams units appear to be Schooler's. He's entering the final season of his rookie deal after being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022. The Patriots could let him play out the final year and use a tender on him next year as a restricted free agent, but an extension before this season to get the deal on paper now could make both sides happy.
