New England HC Jerod Mayo: Patriots ready to 'burn some cash' in free agency

The New England Patriots plan to go on a spending spree to kick off the Jerod Mayo era in Foxborough.

With roughly $66 million in cap space to spend this offseason, fourth-most in the NFL, per Over The Cap, Mayo said earlier this week, the Pats are prepping to shell out coin.

“We’re bringing in talent, 1,000 percent,” Mayo said on Monday in his first interview with the Greg Hill Show on WEEI since taking over for Bill Belichick. “Have a lot of cap space and cash. Ready to burn some cash.”

There was a hint of humor in Mayo’s comment, but the underlying truth is the Pats have the money to spend and holes up and down the roster to fill. Some of the funds will likely be earmarked for bringing back their own veterans, with the likes of Josh Uche, Kyle Dugger, Mike Onwenu, Trent Brown, Hunter Henry and others slated for free agency. Injecting new blood into a 4-13 team, particularly on offense, will be necessary for Mayo’s tenure to get off on the right foot.

Under Belichick over the past 10 years, the Pats ranked last in the NFL in cash spending at $1.62 billion, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss. Outside of a 2021 spending spree, during which New England spent $222 million in free agency, the Pats generally weren’t volume shoppers.

Armed with the No. 3 overall pick and a plan to “burn cash” in free agency, we should be looking at a much different Patriots squad come mandatory minicamp in June.