The entered the offseason with the most cap space of any team in the NFL, and while they didn't add a ton of outside talent, they did their best to retain some of their own free agents and extend some players who would hit the market in 2025.One player who New England got to a year early was defensive lineman Davon Godchaux, who was due to not having any guarantees remaining.Despite the situation, Godchaux showed up to Rodney McGruder Jersey training camp, practiced with his teammates and was worth up to $21 million with $16.5 million guaranteed.How did it all come together?In a , he shared some of what happened during his negotiations.I dont wanna be a distraction," Godchaux said. "Man, it was a Isiah Thomas Jersey new head coach. I dont wanna be a distraction to the team, I really just wanna go out there and ball. I didnt do anything in OTAs, I just worked out at the facility, and I went home"Training camp came and I remember having this conversation with Eliot (Wolf) He called Ben Wallace Jersey me and was like Look, whats going on? We want you to be out on the field practicing. Im like Look, Eliot, I dont have guarantees. I get it. In this day and age the top pa s rushers are getting paid big money, but you also need a guy to come in and stop the run. If the run doesnt get stopped then you can forget about the pa s rush"Me and my agent ended up taking a whole other approach when it came to training camp. I practiced I practiced in pads the first couple of days, and then about Dzanan Musa Jersey the third day in pads, I got paid. We were just like a million or two off. Im like Eliot, lets just get this done. I wanna be here. You guys want me here. Lets just get it done. And then we end up getting it done.Keeping Godchaux happy became more of a priority when defensive lineman , which could hold him Thon Maker Jersey out for the entire season if not longer.They'll have to rely on him more in the middle in 2024 than they have in recent years, and it makes sense to pay him more for this responsibility.MORE PATRIOTS NEWS