When did it hit you?

After Mike Vrabel admitted Monday the Patriots must go to “great lengths” to upgrade their talent?

Maybe when Cole Strange got cut Tuesday?

Or whenever you looked at the Pats’ initial 53-man roster, after weeks of practices and reports and roster projections, and surely expressed some version of … “huh?”

For all the fresh faces who have swung through Foxboro the last eight months, cutdown day offered a cold reminder this franchise still needs plenty more. These Patriots are rebuilding.

Just ask Vegas.

The Pats’ preseason over-under win total is 8.5 at most sportsbooks, our new governor for how to frame all expectations in sports. If the Patriots exceed expectations, that will mean more than doubling their win total from last year, and more than matching their win

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