For seven ugly hours at the start of free agency on Monday, the New England Patriots were the kings of the NFL again. They were spreading money around at an unprecedented rate for them, seemingly determined to reinstate their dynasty with Robert Kraft’s credit card.
And for those seven tense hours, the blood pressure rose as Jets fans wondered why this was happening to them. Again. The Patriots had rebuilt their team in the blink of an eye, while the Jets, with the same $70 million in salary cap space had done virtually nothing.