Patriots Slammed for Questionable Offseason Decision

The New England Patriots are being heavily criticized for this offseason decision.

Sep 8, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver K.J. Osborn (2) attempts the one hand catch as Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dax Hill (23) defends during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots do not exactly have a star-studded roster, which is expected considering the team is in all-out rebuilding mode.

However, the Patriots probably could have fielded a better team than this when you account for all of the cap space they had this past offseason.

Instead, New England still has a rather bare-bones roster, particularly offensively.

For that reason, Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox has named the Pats' decision not to invest more into the offense as one of the most regretful ones of the offseason.

Knox criticized the Patriots for doing a rather poor job constructing their offensive line and also zeroed in on the club for not properly addressing their thin receiving corps.

"The Patriots didn't do much to upgrade their receiving corps either, aside from signing K.J. Osborn and using a second-round pick on Ja'Lynn Polk," Knox wrote. "The Patriots rank 31st in net yards per pass attempt, and Brissett can't bear all of the blame."

New England tried to sign Calvin Ridley, but Ridley spurned the Pats for the Tennessee Titans. The Patriots didn't really have much of a Plan B and settled for Osborn, who has logged just five catches for 31 yards through the first five weeks.

As for Polk? The rookie wide out has caught nine passes for 74 yards and a touchdown.

Now, first-year quarterback Drake Maye will have to operate with a horrendous offensive line in front of him and very limited weapons at his disposal.

These aren't exactly ideal circumstances for a rookie signal-caller, and it's not a very cushy situation New England's franchise in general.

The Pats still have until the Nov. 5 NFL trade deadline to add another receiver, but that isn't going to be a very easy task.

Perhaps the Patriots will once again have to punt to the offseason, and this time, they need to do a better job of shoring up their problem areas.

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