Winning the Super Bowl is the ultimate achievement for an NFL team.

However with that win, owners, coaches and general managers often see their roster deplete because players can get so much more elsewhere. The salary cap can be tough to deal with.

The New England Patriots are no different. After winning their fourth Super Bowl in franchise history, and first in 10 years, the Patriots have an enormously difficult offseason ahead of them. There's a strong possibility the Patriots could lose their three best defensive players this offseason.

Safety Devin McCourty has an expiring contract, thus he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday, March 10 at 4 p.m. EST. McCourty has been the Patriots best free safety in recent memory proving to be an excellent first round draft pick from Rutgers in 2010. In addition to being able to play both corner and safety, McCourty has only missed three games in five seasons.

McCourty isn't the greatest tackler or the most physical player, but he fits the Patriots system very well under head coach Bill Belichick. Most fans firmly thought McCourty would receive the franchise tag, but the Patriots decided to use it on kicker Stephen Gostkowski instead.

Recently, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork announced that the Patriots would not be exercising the team option on him. Unless Wilfork and the Patriots come to terms by Tuesday, Wilfork will be a free agent. Wilfork is one of the best run blocking defensive tackles in NFL history. Losing him would be a huge blow.

For some perspective on how big (no pun intended) of an impact Wilfork has on the Patriots, see the Patriots with and without him. In 2013, Wilfork only played four games, thus they ranked 30th in rush defense. In 2014, Wilfork played the entire season, and the Patriots ranked No. 9 in rush defense. Wilfork doesn't put up fancy Fantasy Football statistics, but he makes a critical difference at the line of scrimmage. Aside from his run blocking skills, Wilfork is also the team captain of the defense.

And then, there's Darrelle Revis.

Revis is arguably one of the best cornerbacks in NFL history, and the Patriots benefited from signing him last season tremendously. Revis isn't the incredible one on one lock-down defender that he once was, but he's easily the best on the Patriots roster. Last season Revis fit the Patriots man on man scheme very nicely, but he may play elsewhere next season.

Currently, Revis is a member of the Patriots. However, that may not last much longer. If the Patriots retain Revis, that will result in a $25 million cap hit for next season. It's a big amount that Belichick doesn't like, but he may have to pay it. Numerous NFL reports have shown that the New York Jets are willing to pay Revis "anything he wants" to return. As big of a cap hit as it is, the Patriots may just want hold on to Revis Island. In a perfect Patriots world, Revis will restructure his contract saving the team money. But you can't always count on that happening.

The Patriots defense has been an average at best unit over the last several seasons. Losing McCourty, Wilfork and Revis in the same offseason would have a devastating short term effect on the defense. The Patriots will still try and re-sign McCourty, but it looks like Wilfork could retire.

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