The New England Patriots didn't have much to celebrate with the release of the NFL players association's annual team report cards.
Players were able to grade each franchise on 11 separate categories, including "treatment of families," "weight room," "head coach," and "ownership." The Patriots didn't receive a grade higher than a B+, which went to fired coach Jerod Mayo, and were given F's for the franchise's weight room and team travel. The team ranked 31st out of the league's 32 teams overall.
Robert Kraft's ownership was given a D, one of the worst grades in the entire survey; only the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers and the category's lone F grade, the New York Jets, had lower marks.
Where Jets owner Woody Johnson struck a dismissive tone when asked about his poor grade, Kraft admitted just how poorly the last two seasons have gone for his franchise, but believes things are moving back in the right direction.
“It was [an] eye-opener for me,” Kraft said during a media appearance at the NFL annual league meetings Tuesday.
“And then I put it in context, that in 31 years, going through these last two years and the way things were and the culture was there, it really opened my eyes in a way because we think we’re bonded and we have things. But it just was not a good environment, and we want to do everything we can to make this —the feeling is, one of the best places you can go. I think we had that for quite a while in terms of winning and people wanted to come here. The last couple of years changed it. Now it’s management and ownership’s job to do everything they can to create the culture that this is a place people want to come to. I really believe it is happening. Now we've got to to produce on the field and [make] people want to come to be in this environment, and we're trying to do the different things we can to make that happen.”
The Patriots parted ways with six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick after a 4–13 record in 2023, and Mayo after he repeated the same record in '24. The team made what appears to be a strong hire in Mike Vrabel, a proven coach from his time with the Tennessee Titans and a New England great from his playing days. He inherits a roster that may be turning a corner after years at a talent deficit, with talented second-year quarterback Drake Maye set to enter his first full season as starter.
Winning will cure many ills, but the Patriots still have a ways to go to make playing in New England a great experience beyond what happens on the field, as the NFLPA report card showed just a few weeks ago.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Robert Kraft Explains Reaction to 'Eye-Opening' Patriots Grades in NFLPA Report Card.
