Carlton Davis continues his Patriots free agent pitch

As the New England Patriots turn their attention to the offseason, there will need to be a focus on improving the roster. As head coach Mike Vrabel pointed out after the team's Super Bowl loss, they're just in Year 1 of building a program.

Those additions can come both through the NFL Draft as well as free agency, where the Patriots were highly successful last year. While they don't need to exactly replicate their spending spree in 2025, they enter the offseason with $42.7 million in cap space according to OverTheCap.com. That's with just six pending unrestricted free agents to take care of, with the list highlighted by edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga, and safety Jaylinn Hawkins.

As the Patriots look to continue to build with more targeted additions, cornerback Carlton Davis - who was part of that free agency class last year - believes the Patriots will be an even more attractive destination this offseason.

"Oh for sure," he said when asked on Tuesday if the Patriots will be 'a place [players] want to be.' "With the culture we're building here, you can see from this season alone it's some good stuff going on here. Happy to be a part of this organization, and I'm proud of what we did this year. It was phenomenal to come in as a team who got a new coaching staff, new free agents, it's just like a new rebuild, and to have so much success so early, it's amazing."

"Obviously we didn't get it done, and that shit still stings and it's going to hurt," Davis continued, referring to the team's performance in the Super Bowl. "But going into this offseason we can use it as motivation and come back stronger. There's a lot to be proud of."

Davis' overall assessment echo what he said to Devin McCourty on NBC last month. “It’s a great culture, man. I can’t say enough about how good it’s been for me just to be a part of this organization," he said at the time. "I would definitely tell anybody to come here. I’ll recruit for us."

One other player who could be a beneficiary of that Patriots' cap space is the cornerback lining up opposite Davis, Christian Gonzalez. Gonzalez is not a pending free agent but is eligible for a contract extension for the first time in his career. Whenever it hits, Davis says it's well-earned.

"It could be any day now. I'm so happy for him, so proud of him," Davis shared. "He's a great kid outside of football, which is more important. It shows on the field. You can see game in and game out, super proud of him. One of the best corners in the league right now, and he deserves his payday for sure."

Whatever the Patriots plans are for free agency, the reality is with their deep run it's suddenly right around the corner. The legal tampering period - the unofficial start of free agency - comes on Monday, March 9 with the new league year beginning two days later.