ORLANDO, Fla. — The Patriots made it well known ahead of free agency that they would be targeting wide receiver Calvin Ridley, and in the end, they failed to close the deal.
Ridley signed a four-year, $92 million contract with the Titans despite having an offer on the table from the Patriots. The Jaguars were also interested in bringing him back.
Owner Robert Kraft said Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting that the reasons Ridley signed elsewhere were out of the Patriots’ control.
“There was one outstanding receiver that unfortunately we couldn’t close. It was not because of finance,” Kraft said. “Clearly, his girlfriend wanted to be in the South. We had a situation where the taxes were, like, almost 10% higher. We offered — we were willing to keep going at that premium. But he didn’t want to be in the Northeast. And part of it might be the quarterback situation as well.”
The Patriots will likely take their quarterback of the future in the 2024 NFL Draft, and they had signed Jacoby Brissett to be a bridge option before Ridley signed. The Titans’ starter is Will Levis, a 2023 second-round pick who went 3-6 as a starter last season.
Kraft said he feels bad that certain Patriots fans don’t feel optimistic about the 2024 season.
“I think we’ve actually made some improvements. I think we’re getting the system functioning the way we did where this year we signed a number of younger players that we had drafted or have been in our system,” Kraft said. “As a foundation, if you want to win consistently, you have to draft well and then get those players on the second contract. We started to do that this year. We pursued the people we wanted in free agency.”
The Patriots were busy in free agency but didn’t make any splash additions. They re-signed wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Jalen Reagor, tight end Hunter Henry, offensive tackles Mike Onwenu and Tyrone Wheatley Jr., cornerback Alex Austin, quarterback Nathan Rourke and linebackers Christian Elliss, Anfernee Jennings and Josh Uche and placed the transition tag on safety Kyle Dugger. They added quarterback Jacoby Brissett, offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor, running back Antonio Gibson, wide receiver K.J. Osborn, tight end Austin Hooper, guard Nick Leverett, linebacker Sione Takitaki, defensive tackle Armon Watts and safety Jaylinn Hawkins.
They still enter April without a future starting quarterback or obvious starters at “X” receiver and left tackle.