Following the departure of Bill Belichick from the Patriots, the team has decided to re-sign several of the players he acquired. That has made Belichick look good, from the standpoint of evaluating personnel.
New England's latest transaction does not.
By cutting receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster after one season, the Patriots have admitted that Belichick erred in giving Smith-Schuster $16 million guaranteed — $7 million of which is owed to him as 2024 salary.
Compounding the mistake is the fact that, before signing Smith-Schuster, Belichick opted not to keep receiver Jakobi Meyers, a player Belichick signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019.