“We certainly knew at the end of the 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 range, right in there, we could certainly see a lot of our key players aging. We knew, sooner than later, we would have to replace some of those players,” Belichick said. “We ended up replacing quite a few in the last couple of years, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.”

Rarely does Belichick provide such big-picture context to his personnel moves. The “every year is different” mantra typically reigns, and each season and roster decision is treated by Belichick, at least with reporters, as something discrete.

“We’ve had some turnover on the offensive side of the ball, too, particularly at the running back position in the last year,” Belichick said. “Last year, we had guys who were well up into their 30s in that position, and you know that’s tough when you have that kind of age at that position. Some players we’ve drafted and other players we’ve brought in, however they got here, it doesn’t really matter.”

“Look, this is a young man’s game. The young guys coming up are putting pressure on the veteran players, and I know at some point, they are going to push them out,” Belichick said. “You just have to try to remain competitive by bringing in good quality talent, let them compete against each other, and take the best players.

"We had a lot of competition in training camp this year. There were a pretty large number of players who didn’t make our roster who played throughout the league this year, and some of them played at a good level,” he continued. “In the end, we kept the ones we felt were best for our football team, and we’ve played with those.”