head coach said Saturday that salary-cap issues have led to him utilizing more young players than usual this season.
In an interview with his former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis on SiriusXM NFL Radio (h/t ESPN's Mike Reiss), Belichick explained the challenges the Pats are facing this season: "This is kind of the year that we've taken to, I would say, adjust our cap from the spending that we've had in accumulation of prior years. We just haven't been able to have the kind of depth on our roster that we've had in some other years."
The Pats have won 11 consecutive AFC East titles, but they have struggled in their first season without quarterback Tom Brady on the heels of the future Hall of Famer leaving New England after 20 years to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.