New England Patriots
Could the Patriots’ turnaround season end with a trip to Super Bowl LX in February?
It was another eventful year in Boston sports in 2025 — headlined by the Patriots’ miraculous turnaround, Jayson Tatum’s devastating injury, Roman Anthony’s arrival, and Brad Marchand’s exit.
So what’s in store for 2026? Here’s a look at some of our bold predictions for 2026.
Drake Maye wins NFL MVP
Not sure how “bold” this take is anymore, especially given the recent odds.
Still, it’s an achievement in and of itself that Drake Maye — who entered the season as a promising youngster with plenty of room to grow — could be well in line to become the seventh second-year pro to win league NFL, joining elite company that includes Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Kurt Warner, Dan Marino, Earl Campbell, and Jim Brown.
After putting a neat bow on his breakout campaign with a three-TD evening against the Dolphins on Sunday, Drake “Drake Maye” Maye takes home the honors later this winter — narrowly beating out Matthew Stafford.
Jayson Tatum returns to parquet floor in March
As Jayson Tatum crumpled to the hardwood at Madison Square Garden in May, Celtics fans expected the worst.
Those fears were realized when Tatum was quickly diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon — mapping out a scenario where a contending Celtics team was set to mire in purgatory as Tatum spent the entire 2025-26 campaign on the mend.
So much for that.
While an overhauled Celtics team — spearheaded by Jaylen Brown — have exceeded expectations in a wide-open Eastern Conference in 2025-26, Boston will receive another boost in March when Tatum makes his return to the court at TD Garden on Sunday, March 1 against the 76ers.
As expected, Tatum is going to have plenty of rust to shake off this spring. Still, it’s a great sign for the future of this Celtics team that their franchise star will already be back on the court this season, and should have a full bill of health come 2026-27.
Alex Bregman walks, but Red Sox pivot
After clearing out a spot at third base for Alex Bregman last February — sparking a drama-filled couple of months with Rafael Devers that resulted in his trade to the Bay Area — the Red Sox eventually don’t retain their veteran third baseman this offseason.
Bregman ultimately signs a six-year, $180 million contract with the Detroit Tigers, but the Red Sox pivot — inking Bo Bichette to a five-year, $165 million deal instead.
By signing Bichette to play at second, the Red Sox avoid having to cough up several blue-chip prospects to acquire star second baseman Ketel Marte — with Marcelo Mayer ultimately replacing Bregman at the hot corner.
Bruins sell again at trade deadline
Marco Sturm and the Boston Bruins have largely punched above their weight this season as a stingy, scrappy club that has hovered around the playoff picture.
It wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if the Bruins continue to operate a few points around the wild-card threshold in the Eastern Conference, especially if their top stars like David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman — and a potent power play — keep landing punches.
But with so many teams bunched up in the Eastern Conference standings, the Bruins — who have already seen the fruits of last year’s sell-off pay dividends — opt to take advantage of a seller’s market once again and decide to move pieces again at March’s trade deadline.
It won’t be as severe as last year’s firesale featuring the likes of Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, and others. But, pending free agents like Viktor Arvidsson and Andrew Peeke could be on the move, while a top-six forward with term in Casey Mittelstadt could also fetch a solid return.
The biggest question for the Bruins is whether or not to entertain offers on Pavel Zacha, a player who could net a significant haul back — but could conceivably be a long-term contributor for this team alongside other ancillary pieces like Morgan Geekie and Nikita Zadorov.
Red Sox trade Jarren Duran
Something’s got to give with the Red Sox’s logjam in their outfield.
Sure, the Red Sox could conceivable try to rotate one of Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu through the DH spot in 2026, but the writing is on the wall that Boston needs to make a call on one of these players this winter — especially if they can be flipped for a strong return.
After months of speculation, the Red Sox eventually get a deal across with the Royals — sending Duran and Jake Bennett to Kansas City in exchange for southpaw Cole Ragans.
Bill Belichick leaves UNC … to coach the Bills
After a disastrous first season in Chapel Hill marred by petty shots at the Patriots, distractions courtesy of Jordon Hudson, and — most importantly to the boosters — four total wins, Bill Belichick is already operating on thin ice.
Thankfully for Belichick, Mike Lombardi, and the rest of his crew, they receive a bailout courtesy of the Buffalo Bills — who fire Sean McDermott after another disappointing playoff run that ends with Josh Allen and Co. falling to New England in the postseason.
The case can be made that Belichick’s days as an elite football coach are well behind him. But a desperate Bills looking to make the most of Allen’s prime and counter New England opt to give Belichick one more shot in the coaching ranks.
It makes for incredible theater in the AFC East.
The Bruins have two top-10 picks in 2026 NHL Draft
Much like the Islanders last season, the Bruins — who miss the playoffs once again but don’t plummet to the bottom of the standings — receive some luck from the draft lottery.
Boston’s own first-round pick ends up at No. 5 overall, while Toronto’s first-round selection (acquired in the Brandon Carlo trade) is retained by the Bruins at No. 8 overall.
No, the Bruins don’t win the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes. But, an already burgeoning Bruins prospect pipeline receives another major lift after Boston takes dynamic right-shot defenseman Chase Reid at No. 5 overall and 6-foot-5 winger Ethan Belchetz at No. 8.
Garrett Crochet wins Cy Young Award
Red Sox fans are still wanting more from their team this offseason, especially after the club punched its ticket back to the postseason for a brief stint in the Wild Card round in October.
Boston still has plenty of work to do in order to build off the promise of last season. But, the Red Sox are at least anchored by several talents across multiple positions — including Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet.
While Anthony closes out his first full season in the big leagues finishing sixth overall in AL MVP voting, it’s Crochet who takes home some hardware with his first AL Cy Young Award — going 19-6 with a 2.26 ERA and a league-leading 267 strikeouts.
Behind Crochet and Ragans, the Red Sox make it all the way to the ALCS — but a lack of pop in the heart of the lineup once again dooms Boston as they fall to the Mariners and their loaded pitching staff. Elsewhere, Pete Alonso slugs 46 home runs for the Orioles.
Celtics shed salary at the trade deadline
As tempting as it might be for the Celtics to try and buy at the trade deadline to further support an overachieving team, it seems rather evident that Brad Stevens and his staff should put more of an emphasis on 2026-27 — where a healthy Tatum and Brown should be primed to lead Boston back atop the Eastern Conference.
As such, Stevens and Co. decide to shed salary at the trade deadline instead of adding on pieces, moving Anfernee Simons and his $27.6 million expiring contract. With Boston currently about $12 million over the luxury tax, moving Simons would give Boston a bit more flexibility this offseason — even if a few repeater tax penalties will still be a thorn in the side of this club.
The Celtics eventually fall in the second round of the playoffs for the second year in a row, but fans have a lot more to look forward to in 2026-27 as Stevens and his staff try to rework a healthy roster that suddenly has an influx of affordable, effective wings like Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez.
David Pastrnak is named Bruins captain
Ahead of the 2026-27 season, David Pastrnak is named the 28th captain in Bruins history, with the Czech superstar forward tasked with ushering in an influx of top talent in the next few seasons.
His first game as captain starts off with a bang, as Pastrnak opens the new year with a hat trick — all three tallies generated off saucer feeds from new linemate James Hagens.
Patriots go to Super Bowl LX
So much for a rebuilding year in New England.
Sparked by Maye’s MVP campaign and a team fully bought-in to Mike Vrabel’s coaching, the Patriots’ Cinderella run goes all the way to the Bay Area — where New England takes on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
Seattle ultimately doles out revenge for Super Bowl XLIX by winning a nail-biter at Levi’s Stadium. Despite that heartbreak, the future is bright in Foxborough as a new contention window opens faster than anyone could have imagined.
Patriots trade for AJ Brown
After years of speculation, the Patriots finally get their man in Eagles star receiver AJ Brown.
After years of discontent in Philly, the Eagles eventually move a disgruntled Brown to the Patriots for a second-round pick before the 2026 NFL Draft.
Brown — a longtime Patriots fan growing up who played for Mike Vrabel in Tennessee — gives Drake Maye another top weapon to work with in 2026 and beyond.
It’s the start of an aggressive offseason for New England, who also add Georgia LB CJ Allen with their first-round pick and sign tight end Isaiah Likely and edge rusher Jaelan Phillips.
The Patriots are no longer underdogs in 2026, but they’re poised to orchestrate a revenge tour on the road back to Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.
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