New England Patriots: Banking on Brady

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

Even though they lost franchise quarterback Tom Brady to a knee injury in Week 1, the Patriots managed to finish with a rather impressive 11-5 record in 2008. Impressive because they did so with a quarterback (Matt Cassel) that hadn't started a game since he was a senior in high school.

In most years, an 11-5 record is a lock for the NFL's postseason, but the Patriots became the first team since the 1985 Denver Broncos to miss the playoffs with such a mark. They already started the offseason by placing the franchise tag on Cassel, and it remains to be seen if they intend to trade him off to the highest bidder, or keep him around is a rather expensive insurance policy.

Free Agents: Eric Alexander (RFA), Wesley Britt (RFA), Pierre Woods (RFA), Rosevelt Colvin (UFA), Jabar Gaffney (UFA), Heath Evans (UFA), Chris Hanson (UFA), Russ Hockstein (UFA), Larry Izzo (UFA), Deltha O'Neal (UFA), James Sanders (UFA), Lewis Sanders (UFA), Junior Seau (UFA), Rodney Harrison (UFA), Lamont Jordan (UFA), Mike Wright (UFA), Tank Williams (UFA)

Draft Picks: 1 (24), 2 (15), 2 (27), 3 (26), 4 (25), 5 (24), 6 (27), 7 (26)

Needs

1. Cornerback. With Asante Samuel now picking off passes in Philadephia, the Patriots' pass defense suffered in 2008, while Deltha O'Neal was a frequent target of opposing quarterbacks.

2. Linebackers: Jerod Mayo was the NFL's defensive rookie of the year and looks as if he's going to be a stud for years to come in the middle of the Patriots defense. While Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi and Adalius Thomas can still play, they're going to enter the 2009 season with an average age of 33. Some added youth around Mayo could be helpful.

3. Tom Brady. Cassel did a fine job filling in during the 2008 season, but let's face it, Brady is still the key to New England. It's a different offense when he's under center, and if the Patriots want to return to Super Bowl contender status they're going to need a healthy Brady.