New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has insisted that his side will do everything in their power to keep their Super Bowl-winning team together.
Several key players including Devin McCourty, Shane Vereen and Akeem Ayers are due to hit the free-agent market on Tuesday when their contracts with the club expire.
Kraft is determined to do his utmost to keep the players with the Patriots, but has conceded that some players may seek larger salaries elsewhere in the NFL.
"We have a fixed salary cap in the NFL so everyone spends the same amount of money," Kraft told Fox Sports.
"So when players become free, their contracts become free. The good players are in great demand. Fortunately we have quite a few good players who are now free agents. We'll do our best to keep them, but at the same time the lifeblood of the NFL is the draft and the college players.
"So the scouting that goes on, we're really a month behind our competition because we had the privilege of going to the Super Bowl. Our head coach and the staff and all our scouts are working very, very hard at this point."
The Patriots told veteran defensive tackle Vince Wilfork earlier this week that the option on his contract for the 2015 season would not be picked up.
Simon Sinclair
