3 Players Patriots Must Cut in 2024 NFL Offseason
The New England Patriots are set for a complete rebuild in the offseason.
No parts of the roster should be protected as the Patriots attempt to get back to the top of the AFC East.
The roster rebuild should be focused on the offense, which once again looked dreadful in the 10-7 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in Germany.
Mac Jones is very clearly not the franchise quarterback the Patriots hoped he would be, and they may have to use their first-round draft pick on a brand-new signal-caller.
The Patriots' offensive issues stem further than the quarterback. The unit lacks a strong stable of pass-catchers to support any player who lines up in the pocket.
That means a full roster cleaning should be in order for the Patriots in the offseason, and depending on what happens with Bill Belichick, it may happen with a new head coach in charge.
Mac Jones
1 of 3
Jones' days as the Patriots starting quarterback are numbered.
The Alabama product was benched for the final series on Sunday, and while Bailey Zappe did not fare better, it served as a message from the coaching staff to Jones about his poor play.
Jones has 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions to go along with a 65.4 completion percentage and 2,031 passing yards through 10 games.
The quarterback play is not good enough and it could result in a benching out of the Week 11 bye in favor of Zappe.
Jones has to be cut regardless of what happens for the remainder of the 2023 regular season.
He has one year left on his rookie contract, per Spotrac, and he would not cost much to cut with a $2.7 million salary for the 2024 season.
New England should not be willing to keep Jones around as a backup. Both sides seem better off with a change of scenery that becomes more likely with every passing week.
DeVante Parker
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Part of the reason why Jones has not achieved success this season is the lackluster wide receiver corps that the Patriots front office put together.
DeVante Parker has not had a multi-catch game since October 8 and he does not seem to be a key part of the offense moving forward.
New England should put most of its trust in Rhamondre Stevenson, Demario Douglas and Hunter Henry to help either Jones or Zappe try to win games in the second half of the season.
Parker had a decent 2022 campaign with the Patriots, but it is hard to justify paying him $3.2 million in 2024 and 2025 if he can't produce multiple receptions on a weekly basis.
The lack of success from Parker and other wide receivers makes the rebuild even harder for the Patriots because they can't just plug in a new quarterback to make everything okay.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
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JuJu Smith-Schuster's contract looks worse by the game.
The veteran wide receiver inked a three-year, $25.5 million in the offseason. He is expected to receive the bulk of that money in 2024 and 2025.
Smith-Schuster has just 149 receiving yards on 22 receptions this season. He only had reception in two of the last three games.
The 26-year-old is nowhere close to matching the numbers he produced with the Kansas City Chiefs last season.
Smith-Schuster was signed to help Jones get better as a quarterback, but both players have seen their value significantly decrease throughout the season.
The Patriots may not want to cut every veteran offensive skill position player, but if they fully commit to the rebuild, at least one of their most notable wide receivers has to go.
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