Robert Kraft believes he’ll get ‘chastised’ for this take on the 2025 Patriots

"I really think we’re on that path now.”

Robert Kraft believes that the Patriots should make the playoffs a tangible target in 2025. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/AP Content Services for the NFL)

By Conor Ryan

April 2, 2025

2 minutes to read

Robert Kraft didn’t mince words while fielding questions from reporters at the NFL owners’ meetings in Florida on Tuesday.

“The last two years have been really, really difficult — the worst two years of our ownership,” Kraft acknowledged.

It’s hard to argue against said sentiment for a once proud franchise.

While it was expected for New England’s contention window to be shuttered following Tom Brady’s exit in free agency in March 2020, things have only continued to spiral in the years since the legendary quarterback left for Tampa.

In just the last two seasons, the Patriots have posted a combined record of 8-26, prompting the team to move on from legendary head coach Bill Belichick after the 2023 season — only to then fire his successor, Jerod Mayo, after one year on the job.

New England will be rolling out its third head coach in as many years in 2025 with Mike Vrabel in place.

And even with the promise offered up by Drake Maye at quarterback and several intriguing free-agent signings, New England still has plenty of holes to fill on its depth chart ahead of September.

But when asked if the Patriots are once again starting from scratch in their multi-year rebuild, Kraft pushed back against such an assertion.

“I’ll get chastised for saying it, but I think we’re ahead of that,” Kraft said. “I think we have some real talent in the locker room. I think we’re privileged now to have a head coach [in Vrabel] that has learning curve experience and has really come in and created a great atmosphere. I remember him as a player and his competitive attitude.

“He has grown as an individual in terms of having that edge but also being able to build a sense of team and cooperation. It’s unusual when every part of the building feels that he’s someone that they can relate to and he’s cooperating and he’s putting team-first. It’s really created a great sense of camaraderie.”

Even with the stability that Vrabel should provide as head coach, New England still has to shore up its offensive line before the start of training camp — while the addition of Stefon Diggs alone won’t be enough to completely elevate what was a listless Patriots offense in 2024.

But even with all of those question marks surrounding the Patriots, Kraft believes that the best way for New England to tab the 2025 campaign as a success is to not just improve on their paltry win total.

Rather, it’s to outright make the playoffs.

“Ever since I’ve owned the team, the objectives were for the team to make the playoffs. Because once you make the playoffs, anything can happen,” Kraft said. “I think we have experience over the last few decades of seeing how that happens.

“I know I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but after my family, this team is the most important thing in my life. The bottom line is winning games … I really think we’re on that path now.”