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New England Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf still views contract extensions for both quarterback Drake Maye and cornerback Christian Gonzalez as top priorities for the team.
This comes after the Patriots spent a lot of money for a second straight offseason to build a winning roster. However, the two most important contracts in the building are coming due.
Gonzalez is already eligible for a contract extension, and his decision not to attend voluntary OTAs might be a protective measure for no new deal being on the table. Whether he decides to skip out on mandatory minicamp or not remains to be seen. The Patriots picked up the fifth-year option on his contract, and if they choose to exercise it, he will be under contract with the team through the 2027 season.
Maye, on the other hand, is in the third year of his rookie deal. So the team still has a little more time to get his situation figured out before shelling out a blockbuster extension.
“That's our No. 1 priority," Wolf said, via Yahoo.com’s Jori Epstein earlier in the week. "Obviously we have other priorities, but that's our No. 1 priority and I think it just gives you some advantages, especially as we were kind of restocking in free agency last year, we spent the most money in the league, and then again this year when we kind of went heavy again. That's not necessarily sustainable, especially when we have guys like [Christian] Gonzalez and Drake coming down the pipe here. But having that now gives us the flexibility in these, call it the next two years, to be able to do something like this.”
The Patriots have struggled in the past locking up their young talent and retaining stars. It would be refreshing to see the team make an aggressive pitch to keep both Maye and Gonzalez. Both players have the chance to be long-time cornerstones of the franchise.
If the Patriots want to keep their Super Bowl window open, it would be wise to lock down the players who helped get them to the big game.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Eliot Wolf's honest take on Drake Maye, Christian Gonzalez contracts
Continue reading...
This comes after the Patriots spent a lot of money for a second straight offseason to build a winning roster. However, the two most important contracts in the building are coming due.
Gonzalez is already eligible for a contract extension, and his decision not to attend voluntary OTAs might be a protective measure for no new deal being on the table. Whether he decides to skip out on mandatory minicamp or not remains to be seen. The Patriots picked up the fifth-year option on his contract, and if they choose to exercise it, he will be under contract with the team through the 2027 season.
Maye, on the other hand, is in the third year of his rookie deal. So the team still has a little more time to get his situation figured out before shelling out a blockbuster extension.
“That's our No. 1 priority," Wolf said, via Yahoo.com’s Jori Epstein earlier in the week. "Obviously we have other priorities, but that's our No. 1 priority and I think it just gives you some advantages, especially as we were kind of restocking in free agency last year, we spent the most money in the league, and then again this year when we kind of went heavy again. That's not necessarily sustainable, especially when we have guys like [Christian] Gonzalez and Drake coming down the pipe here. But having that now gives us the flexibility in these, call it the next two years, to be able to do something like this.”
The Patriots have struggled in the past locking up their young talent and retaining stars. It would be refreshing to see the team make an aggressive pitch to keep both Maye and Gonzalez. Both players have the chance to be long-time cornerstones of the franchise.
If the Patriots want to keep their Super Bowl window open, it would be wise to lock down the players who helped get them to the big game.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Eliot Wolf's honest take on Drake Maye, Christian Gonzalez contracts
Continue reading...
