On one hand, the fact that the Patriots aren’t exactly signing up the entire free-agent pool this season shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. After all, the team spent nearly $160 million overhauling their roster last season in hopes of returning to the playoffs.
They accomplished that goal, and now they have a good deal of money tied up for this year at least (though, as the New Orleans Saints have shown, you can find ways to create more cap space if you want to). So this was always more likely to be a year of tweaks and adjustments rather than big change.