Bill Simmons has often been accused of being a Boston sports homer.
But when it comes to the current state of the New England Patriots, “The Sports Guy” has some less than flattering opinions.
In recent months, Simmons has made a habit of filming YouTube shorts, which feature him walking around suburban Los Angeles neighborhoods while giving takes. In his latest video, The Ringer founder can be seen ranting about the Patriots, who have had a relatively quiet start to the 2024 offseason.
“I’m trying to figure out what the Patriots are doing. Right now, they have the most money to spend of any team in the league, but free agency’s basically over,” Simmons said. “They have the third, I think 35th, 68th and 103rd picks out of the top 105. They don’t have a future QB. They don’t have a left tackle. They don’t have an impact receiver. Their only above average skill position guy is Rhamondre Stevenson, who’s not even a top 10 running back. They’re a D+ offense. New coach. They’re the cheapest team in the last 10 years for spending.
“And I guess my question is, is this just going to be the Patriots until Bob Kraft dies? Just super cheap. They’ve spent the least amount of money for the last 10 years. They let Brady go, then they blame Belichick for that. And now it just feels like they’re going to trade backwards from No. 3 and get a bunch of picks and tell everyone how smart they are. And meanwhile, we’re going to pass up a franchise QB. And not spend money. Great.”
This isn’t the first time that Simmons has expressed skepticism regarding Robert Kraft, as he also slammed the portrayal of the Patriots owner — particularly in contrast to Belichick — in the Apple TV+ docuseries, The Dynasty. And to Simmons’ point, New England’s roster is pretty uninspiring, as the Patriots currently rank second in cap space and 28th in the NFL in active cap spending, according to OverTheCap.com.
But as the Houston Texans showed a year ago, all it takes is one draft class to turn things around. Until then, Simmons will have to settle for continuing to rant while taking walks, which must be quite the visual for The Sports Guy’s neighbors.