The Patriots have been quite busy the past two weeks, adding or re-signing 11 players through free agency and trades and handing out $71.46 million in fully guaranteed money. That figure includes fullback James Develin ($500,000), whose signing hasn’t been announced yet, and defensive end Kony Ealy ($900,000), whose salary technically isn’t guaranteed. But the Patriots traded for him for a reason, and he’ll be with the club in 2017.

Let’s break down the Patriots’ flurry of activity and how the reigning champs will look in 2017:

■ Most of these moves can be classified as “classic Patriots’’ — trading for cheap, young players in Ealy and Brandin Cooks; bringing back a star defensive player, but on their own terms (Dont’a Hightower); re-signing key role players (Duron Harmon, Alan Branch, Develin) to reasonable deals; and sorting through the haystack to find reasonably priced veterans to fill specific roles (Dwayne Allen, Lawrence Guy, Rex Burkhead).

But the Stephon Gilmore signing ($31 million fully guaranteed) blew everyone away with how out of character it was for Bill Belichick, who hadn’t dipped his toe this deep into free agency waters since Adalius Thomas in 2007. “No one saw this coming,’’ said one agent who represented multiple cornerbacks on the open market this year.

The signing represents how the Patriots are going “all-in’’ to win another title while they still have Tom Brady — more on that in a bit — but also how the NFL is just swimming in cash. The league has been generating about $1 billion more in cash each year — reaching $14 billion in 2016, according to the Sports Business Journal — while the salary cap has been increasing by about $12 million each of the last few seasons.

Even after handing out more than $70 million in guaranteed money this month, the Patriots still have more than $26 million in cap space. The Patriots, like many NFL teams, have more money than they know what to do with.

■ Speaking of going “all-in,’’ the Cooks trade falls in line with an organizational shift the Patriots appear to have had with their wide receivers. Remember the 2013 season, when Brady screamed his head off at the Patriots’ three rookie receivers (Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, Kenbrell Thompkins) who couldn’t get on the same page? Gone are the days of relying on youngsters, who have a big transition from college to the pros, but an even bigger one in the Patriots’ offense, which relies on precise routes and constant unspoken communication with Brady.

All three of those young receivers washed out, and the Patriots have been targeting veteran receivers ever since — Brandon LaFell in 2014, Scott Chandler and Keshawn Martin in 2015, Martellus Bennett and Chris Hogan in 2016, and now Cooks and Allen in 2017. Yes, they drafted Malcolm Mitchell last year, but only counted on him to be the fifth or sixth weapon.

■ The Patriots’ two big acquisitions, Gilmore and Cooks, both appear to be in response to Super Bowl LI — which sounds weird, given that the Patriots won the game. But for three quarters, the Patriots were overwhelmed by the Falcons’ defensive speed, and had to devote significant resources to covering Julio Jones, a big, physical receiver who had no counterpart on the Patriots’ defense.

Gilmore, who has elite measurables with 31-inch arms and 4.4 speed, allows the Patriots to cover big receivers like Jones or Demaryius Thomas without having to give constant double-teams. And Cooks, who ran a 4.33 in the 40 at the Combine in 2014, gives the Patriots a true burner on offense. The Patriots had a lot of quickness in Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, James White, and Hogan, but no one who could break away from the defense once he had the ball in his hands. That’s what the Patriots get with Cooks, who has 22 catches of 30-plus yards since 2014 (eighth most in the NFL) and seven catches of 50-plus yards (seventh most).

With Cooks and Hogan (four catches of 40-plus yards in 2016), Brady now has two dangerous vertical threats to open up the field for Edelman and Rob Gronkowski.

■ We’re having a hard time feeling too much sympathy for Malcolm Butler — or, more appropriately, having more sympathy for him than we do for any other young NFL player who is locked into an unfavorable deal. His anger should lie with the NFL Players Association for agreeing to a system that slashed rookie pay and locked rookies into their contracts for at least three years, giving teams unquantifiable leverage in negotiations (“Why should we pay you $10 million when we can draft four rookies for the same price, and we can control their rights at minimum-level salaries for the next three to four years?’’).

Butler is getting impatient after making the league minimum the last three seasons. But every drafted rookie has to wait at least four years to reach unrestricted free agency, and undrafted rookies such as Butler are no different. The Broncos’ Chris Harris played three years at minimum salaries, played his fourth year under the restricted free agent tender, then cashed in with a huge deal from the Broncos in December 2014, right before he hit free agency. A.J. Bouye also just finished up his fourth year on a RFA tender, waited for unrestricted free agency, and scored with a $67 million deal over five years.

■ Butler, meanwhile, has fared pretty well, all things considered. If he signs his first-round RFA tender for the Patriots for $3.91 million, he will have earned $5.47 million in his four-year deal, which is more money than all but the top 34 draft picks from 2014 will have made (though some will see salary increases this year via the Proven Performance Escalator). Derek Carr, the 36th overall pick that year, signed a four-year deal after the draft worth $5.37 million.

And playing for the Patriots has paid off for Butler. In addition to his salary, he has made an extra $419,000 in playoff shares (eight playoff games) and $773,067.89 in performance-based pay over the last three seasons. Add it all up, and Butler would make $6.662 million over four seasons with the Patriots, with a chance to strike it rich in unrestricted free agency next fall.

He just needs to be patient for one more year. If the sign-and-trade with the Saints goes through, Butler might make a few extra million in 2017, but there’s no way he will make as much as he will on the open market next year. And in a year or two Butler again will look at his contract and wonder why he’s so underpaid.

■ Don’t discount the return of Darrelle Revis, now a free agent after being released by the Jets. One league executive said the Patriots “are the only team that makes sense’’ to sign Revis, as not many teams have a need for an expensive, aging cornerback with questionable work ethic. But Belichick could get the most out of Revis and find a way to use him — maybe not as a starting cornerback, but certainly as a depth piece at corner or strong safety.

And signing Revis would be a great way for Belichick to stick it to the Jets, one of his favorite pastimes. The Jets owe Revis $6 million in guaranteed salary (with offset language), and the Patriots could potentially get Revis for $1 million-$2 million and have the Jets pick up the rest of the tab, which would delight Belichick and Patriots fans to no end.

The only question — will Revis be willing to play football for free? He gets $6 million whether he plays this fall or sits on his couch, and he hasn’t played for that amount since 2008, his second NFL season.

TRADE PHILOSOPHY

Better early than late is their motto

If the Patriots do trade Malcolm Butler, it will feed into the team’s longstanding philosophy to get rid of a player a year too soon instead of a year too late. Assuming Butler doesn’t sign a long-term deal in New England, the Patriots can either keep Butler for 2017 and possibly recoup a compensatory draft pick in 2019, or they can trade him now for 2017 draft picks, under the theory that a draft pick now is worth more than a draft pick in the future.

It’s the same philosophy that led to the Patriots trading Jamie Collins in November, when they acquired a third-round pick for 2017 instead of waiting for a compensatory pick in 2018. And Chandler Jones last offseason, when they got a 2016 second-round pick and Jonathan Cooper in return. And we all know about how they moved on from Logan Mankins, Wes Welker, Richard Seymour, Deion Branch, and others.

Which makes the team’s stance of refusing to trade Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason so interesting. The Patriots, who currently don’t have a first- or second-round pick, are sitting on a potential gold mine in Garoppolo, who could fetch several high draft picks, maybe even the Browns’ No. 12 pick.

With Garoppolo set to hit unrestricted free agency next spring, Tom Brady not showing signs of slowing down, and the Patriots not drafting until pick No. 72 this year, wouldn’t it make sense to cash in the Garoppolo chip now and surround Brady with more quality players?

That answer would be a resounding yes if Garoppolo played any other position. But the Patriots treat the quarterback position differently. When Belichick drafted Garoppolo in 2014, he said the Colts’ 2-14 season in 2011 when Peyton Manning was hurt was a motivating factor.

“In our organization, I don’t think we would put together a team the way Indianapolis did it when they lost Manning and they go 0-16, 1-15 or whatever it was,’’ Belichick said then, never afraid to take a shot at the Colts. “Unfortunately when we lost Tom in 2008, we had a player that could step in and we won 11 games. We want to be competitive even if something happens to a player at any position. I think depth is always important. You never know when you’re going to need it. But I don’t think we’d be happy going 1-15 if we had an injury at one position.’’

The last time the Patriots had a quarterback entering the last year of his deal, they held onto Ryan Mallett throughout 2014 training camp before feeling confident that Garoppolo could be the backup, dealing Mallett for a conditional seventh-round pick at roster cutdowns. Keeping Garoppolo this year might not be as much about anointing him as Brady’s heir as much as it is making sure the Patriots have a quality backup quarterback who could keep a championship season alive should something happen to a 40-year-old Brady this fall. The Patriots love Jacoby Brissett’s toughness and work ethic, but he is still unproven as a quarterback. And if it means missing out on a first-round pick this year, and settling for a third-round compensatory pick in 2019, then so be it.

The real test of the Patriots’ love of Garoppolo will come next spring, when they could franchise him for about $22 million or sign him to a long-term deal, which of course would cause all sorts of controversy about Brady’s future.

ETC.

Earn it here, receive it there

With the Patriots giving up on several key players from their two recent Super Bowl teams, and playing hardball with Malcolm Butler, the impression is that playing for the Patriots won’t get you paid. That sentiment is incorrect — playing for the Patriots will get you paid, just maybe not by the Patriots.

Several ex-Patriots have done just fine in free agency with other teams. Chandler Jones signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal in Arizona that came with a $15 million signing bonus and realistically will be a three-year, $51 million deal.

Jamie Collins, traded to the Browns in November, signed a four-year, $50 million extension that realistically will pay him $27 million over two years.

Logan Ryan signed a three-year, $30 million deal with $12 million fully guaranteed and steady cash flows of about $10 million per season. He should at least see two years and $20 million, and could make it all three seasons.

Martellus Bennett signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Packers that is really a one-year, $8 million deal (an increase from his $5.185 million salary last year). And Jabaal Sheard got a three-year, $25.5 million deal from the Colts that really is just a one-year, $10 million deal. But Sheard is coming off a two-year, $11 million deal, so $10 million in 2017 is a nice raise.

The only Patriots free agents still not spoken for are LeGarrette Blount, Brandon Bolden, Chris Long, Michael Floyd, and, of course, Butler.

Extra points

The NFL league year is now 11 days old, and the Tony Romo saga is still not resolved. The problem appears to be Romo’s contract, of course, which he signed before the 2015 season and would saddle the Cowboys with a whopping $19.6 million in dead cap space if they trade or outright release him. Since November we have maintained that 1) the Cowboys would be better off keeping Romo as insurance for Dak Prescott in 2017, especially considering how cheap Prescott is; and 2) if the Cowboys are set on releasing Romo, designating him as a post-June 1 release is the most sensible, as it allows the Cowboys to split his $19.6 million dead cap money over two years. As far as Romo’s landing spot, the Broncos and Texans still remain the favorites. But as one league source hypothesized, Romo is more of a luxury for the Broncos, who have two capable quarterbacks in Trevor Siemian and Paxton Lynch, but a necessity for the Texans, who are starved for playoff success and have a talented roster outside of quarterback. The Broncos want Romo, but the Texans need Romo . . . Five teams used free agency to make over their offensive lines. The Lions spent $49 million to sign right tackle Ricky Wagner and T.J. Lang. The Broncos spent $31 million for guard Ronald Leary and Menelik Watson. The Panthers signed former Vikings tackle Matt Kalil to what is really a three-year, $33 million deal, while the Vikings signed former Panthers tackle Mike Remmers for $11.5 million over two years and left tackle Reilly Reiff for $36 million over three years. And the Browns spent more than $60 million for guards Joel Bitonio and Kevin Zeitler, and center J.C. Tretter . . . Did you know: The collective bargaining agreement states that only 32 compensatory draft picks are to be awarded each year (the equivalent of one per team)? They are divvied up among the teams based on which suffered the most free agency losses in the previous year. Of the 748 compensatory picks awarded since the system began in 1994, the Ravens have collected 48 (6 percent) while the Patriots are fourth with 34 (4.5 percent) and earned an extra fifth-rounder this year.

The Saints have the fewest, with just 10 (1.3 percent).

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.