Top 5 Reasons To Be Thankful as a Patriots Fan in 2024

Thanksgiving is a time to eat a lot of food and watch football. It’s also a time to pause and be thankful for what people have. For New England Patriots fans, some years have been much easier than others to feel thankful for their favorite NFL franchise. The 2024 season has been one of the more difficult ones.

It seemed tough to envision the Patriots taking a step backward after their 2023 season. That team’s 4-13 record marked New England’s worst finish in 31 years. Their record sits at 3-9 in 2024. The Patriots will likely be underdogs in their five remaining games. The Colts, Cardinals, Chargers, and Bills (twice) remain on the schedule.

Things might not be going amazingly this year, but there is still plenty for Patriots fans to be thankful for. And that doesn’t include that things can’t get much worse. It also doesn’t include the many reasons from recent history to be grateful to be a member of Patriots Nation. Recent struggles can make it easy to forget that 28 of 31 NFL franchises outside New England have longer Super Bowl droughts than the Patriots.

Also Read – New England Sits Fourth in 2025 NFL Draft Position After Week 12

So, on Thanksgiving, it’s a good time to look at the New England Patriots, present and future, and be thankful, despite their poor record in 2024.

5. Returning Players

The way this season has gone, it’s hard to think of being thankful for the return of a large percentage of the roster. However, there should be significant upgrades from players already in the building. Captains David Andrews and Ja’Whaun Bentley will return from season-ending injuries. And Christian Barmore, Jabrill Peppers, Kendrick Bourne, and Cole Strange could all be available for the entire season.

Young players, particularly this season’s rookies, could make a significant leap in production in 2025. At least a few should. Ja’Lynn Polk, Caedan Wallace, Layden Robinson, Javon Baker, and Jaheim Bell will all be expected to play bigger roles in 2025.

Even the coaching staff, assuming the majority returns, should improve in their second season. Jerod Mayo and DeMarcus Covington are unlikely to be fired. Alex Van Pelt should keep his job as long as Drake Maye is improving and enjoys working with him. Staff changes will likely be relegated to tweaks instead of an overhaul.

Furthermore, for all the criticism Eliot Wolf received for failing to sign outside talent in free agency this past offseason, he did a nice job extending potential free agents. New England now has very few players to worry about hitting the market. This will allow the focus to be on adding to what they already have next offseason.

4. Offseason Additions

The likelihood of the New England Patriots “burning some cash” in 2025 is high. There is no excuse not to. Bringing in talent via trade or free agency was the hope last offseason. It is the expectation this time around.

New England adding a handful of key players could speed up the rebuild process considerably. How different could next year’s roster look with WR Tee Higgins (Bengals), OT Alaric Jackson (Rams), OG Trey Smith (Chiefs), ED Haason Reddick (Jets), and D.J. Reed (Jets)? Signing five top free agents is improbable, but a couple is realistic.

Furthermore, the Patriots head into the 2025 NFL Draft with solid capital once again. It’s simply up to Eliot Wolf to make the most of it via selections and/or trades. Based on current standings (though Week 12), New England would have four of the first 85 selections. They’d pick at No. 4, No. 36, No. 68, and No. 83 (via Atlanta). If used wisely, Wolf can make the roster younger, deeper, and more talented.

3. Christian Barmore

The third reason to be thankful as a New England Patriots fan is for multiple reasons. Christian Barmore is an excellent football player. More importantly, it appears his career is back on track after a scary medical diagnosis that kept him out for the first 10 games of 2024.

Barmore broke out in 2023. Had New England been a better team, Barmore likely would have been a Pro Bowl selection. His performance was worthy of it. He finished with 64 tackles, 16 quarterback hits, 13 tackles for a loss, 8.5 sacks, six batted balls, and a forced fumble. In Barmore’s third NFL season, while still only 24 years old, he leaped good to great.

The Patriots rewarded Barmore with a lucrative extension in the offseason. It keeps the defensive tackle in New England through the 2028 season. From last season’s team, the player who showed the most worthy of such a deal was Barmore. Locking up a young, disruptive force before they could test the open market was good business.

Unfortunately, Christian Barmore received a blood clot diagnosis at the beginning of training camp. His treatment kept him sidelined until Week 11, though such a scenario could have gone much worse for player and team alike. With his return to the field this season, the groundwork is laid for Barmore to be back for a full season in 2025. Heading into the future, there is no reason to expect a drop-off in production from where he was in 2023.

In addition to what Barmore adds himself, his presence will free things up for teammates as well. Players like Keion White, and whichever pass rushers New England adds, will garner less attention from opponents who have to account for Barmore in the middle.

2. Christian Gonzalez

Gonzalez remaining on the board at No. 17 in the 2023 NFL Draft remains a mystery. The cornerback from Oregon landed in the Patriots’ lap, even after New England traded back three spots from No. 14. He looked like he belonged in the league immediately, earning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for September 2023. Unfortunately, it was the only month of the season that Gonzalez played. A torn labrum forced him to miss the remainder of his rookie year.

The hope was that Gonzalez would make a full recovery and pick up where he left off in 2024. Gonzalez had met, if not exceeded, all such expectations.

Christian Gonzalez gives the New England Patriots a bona fide lockdown corner. Bill Belichick’s final first-round pick for the franchise looks like a keeper. He has faced some of the NFL’s top wide receivers this season and won almost all of his battles. New England should try to extend Gonzalez as soon as he becomes eligible for a new deal following the 2025 season. For a team with plenty of areas for upgrade, their top cornerback has eased concerns about at least one position.

1. Drake Maye

Nothing has given Patriots fans more reason to be thankful in 2024 than the performance of the franchise’s rookie quarterback. Drake Maye did not take over the starting job until Week 6 but has already shown enough to generate plenty of excitement for the future. This holds true for even those who wanted New England to target a more sure thing at No. 3 in the draft, like wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. or offensive tackle Joe Alt.

Maye began the year backing up Jacoby Brissett. After a 1-4 start, Maye got the starting nod. The reason for the delay remains somewhat of a mystery, as Brissett performed exactly as should have been expected. The veteran played largely mistake-free football, while showing toughness and leadership, just as he has throughout his NFL career. Perhaps the contrast of the two quarterbacks has shined a brighter light on some of Maye’s current deficiencies (specifically turnovers), but they have also highlighted what a dynamic playmaker he is.

The rookie has already silenced some critics who had apparently never studied his play before commenting on it. He’s not the Mac Jones or Mitch Trubisky 2.0, as some claimed. The best comp for Maye might have been Philip Rivers with mobility (though maybe that’s because it was made here).

Maye has already shown so much that Patriots fans were hoping he’d be. He’s a great teammate, going out of his way to compliment others while owning his own mistakes. He’s confident without seeming cocky. He has displayed a temperament that should help him survive an unforgiving sports market. But most importantly, Maye is a good football player. He has all the physical tools to be an NFL quarterback for a long time, combining a strong arm with an ability to run. He’s tough and does not come across as entitled despite his blue-chip pedigree. That is easy to embrace for New England sports fans.

Drake Maye on the New England Patriots doesn’t guarantee any future success, but he provides hope for a fanbase that was lacking it before his arrival. For that, the franchise and their fans should all be thankful.