Robert Kraft wants Patriots to add 'top-rate, young quarterback,' says team is going in 'right direction'

When New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was asked on Tuesday about missing out on free-agent wide receiver Calvin Ridley, it revealed a few issues with the current state of his team.

"There was one outstanding receiver that unfortunately we couldn't close," Kraft said at the NFL's Annual League Meeting in Orlando, Fla. "It was not because of finance. He made clear his girlfriend wanted to be in the South, and we had a situation where the taxes were, like, almost 10 percent higher and we offered and were willing to keep going at that premium, but he didn't want to be in the Northeast.

"Part of it might be the quarterback situation as well."

In journalism, we call this "burying the lede." The Patriots' quarterback situation hangs over the entire operation right now, and Kraft knows it. Equipped with mounds of salary-cap space, the Patriots mostly have retained their own free agents and not made big splashes on outside players; they did bring back bridge signal-caller Jacoby Brissett on a low-cost, short-term deal.

That puts more pressure on New England, owners of the No. 3 overall pick, to land a quarterback via the 2024 NFL Draft. Is Kraft on board with that plan of action?

"As a fan, I put my fan hat on and I definitely would," Kraft said. "In the end, you can't win in this league consistently unless you have a first-rate quarterback and a first-rate coach."

But as Kraft pointed out, these are uncharted waters for his organization, at least under his stewardship. They haven't selected third overall since Kraft took over. They had the security of Tom Brady for nearly two decades. Now Bill Belichick is gone, too.

No one is truly sure how it will all go. The two teams ahead of the Patriots, the Bears at No. 1 and Commanders