Robert Kraft: If there was ever a year to spend in free agency, this is the year

[Pat Patriot]

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Patriots owner Robert Kraft admitted earlier this month that his team’s brass always made fun of the organizations that spent heavily in free agency.

Then his own team went 7-9 in 2020.

Now New England has signed several high-profile free agents in an effort to once again become competitive in 2021. But there’s a method to the team’s approach that has a lot to do with this season’s depressed salary cap.

“If there was ever a year to [spend a lot of money], this would be the year because we moved quickly and instead of having 10-12 teams compete against us there were only 2-3,” Kraft said during a conference call on Wednesday, via Ryan Hannable of WEEI. “I really hope it makes a difference. I’m excited about this upcoming season.”

The Patriots still have some work to do, including potentially finding a long-term solution at quarterback. But it’s clear that after the first losing season in well over a decade in 2020, New England isn’t complacent enough to sit back and just let another one happen.