Patriots coach Jerod Mayo says it’s going to take time to rebuild the roster in New England.
Mayo said on WEEI this morning that the Patriots made important strides in building the roster through the draft and free agency this year, but that he never thought he would have the roster construction completed in 2024.
“We had a lot of holes on the roster that we felt, coming out of the draft, that we addressed. Now, free agency, we still felt like we signed the best offensive lineman in Mike Onwenu, and re-signing some of our players, which was definitely part of it. Once again, this isn’t a one-year thing in my mind. It’s going to take time to continue to build out the roster, and that’s how it is,” Mayo said.
Mayo said part of the Patriots’ goal for 2024 is to give young players enough playing time to know where they’re set for the future and where they still need to upgrade in 2025.
“From a roster standpoint, just in general, especially with our younger players, we had to see what we have this year, no matter what the record is. When we get out of this season, we need to know exactly what we have from a talent standpoint and then fill the holes that we need to fill,” Mayo said.
Asked why the roster was in such bad shape when he got the job, Mayo didn’t answer directly.
“You tell me,” Mayo said. “I’m not doing that one.”
There was some awkward laughter from Mayo and the WEEI interviewers at that point, as if they all thought it was Bill Belichick’s fault but no one wanted to come out and say it. Of course, Mayo was one of Belichick’s top assistants and is well aware of who made the personnel decisions that left the roster in the shape it was in when Mayo got promoted to be Belichick’s successor. The roster that Mayo described as having “a lot of holes” is the roster Mayo inherited from Belichick.