The Patriots were headed into the 2025 offseason, likely hoping for an opportunity to improve their wide receiver room, and on Tuesday, those hopes took a bit of a hit.
With reports that the Bengals are likely to franchise-tag Tee Higgins, one of the Patriots’ top free-agent WR targets may now be off the board. For a group that’s already pretty lean, New England doesn’t have much room to pivot in terms of a comparable candidate.
One thing that stands out is how increased cap space across the league is helping teams retain top talent, and it’s starting to dilute the free agent pool. We’re starting to see fewer quality players hit the market, with clubs instead doing a better job of manipulating the numbers while keeping a lot of these guys in-house.
For Cincinnati, they’re definitely feeling the pressure. One year ago, it felt like Higgins would potentially finish out 2024 and be gone this offseason. Now, it sounds like the wheels are in motion with the Bengals to try and keep things intact for one more go-around.
Overall, 2024 turned out to be a tough year for Cincinnati. The Patriots kicked off the first of a three-game losing streak for them to open the season, which saw another three-game skid in December that put them in a hole they couldn’t dig out from. Despite a five-game winning streak to close out the year, things simply came together too late.
For a team that was considered to be a potential Super Bowl contender at the start of the season, this is obviously not where the Bengals wanted to be.
Joe Burrow definitely seemed like he felt like their window was closing, and the discussion about their approach heading into the offseason started recently based on comments his during Super Bowl week. Burrow talked about the fact that he and several big names, including Higgins, were hopeful to stay together to try and contend for a title.
“We have the cap space to get it done,” said Burrow on Breakfast Ball during an interview two weeks ago. “I want to make it happen. Everybody involved, Trey [Hendrickson], Tee [Higgins], J’Marr [Chase], Mike [Gesicki], we all want to stay together. And so when you have guys who are motivated like that, I think you can get those things done.”
When asked if he’d be willing to restructure his own deal if necessary, Burrow replied, “Of course.”
CBS reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala said back in December that Higgins told her that being paid as a top wideout wasn’t necessarily his goal this offseason. He emphasized that his role in Cincinnati clearly works, and it sounded like he wanted to be there if they could make it work.
“I’m playing with if not the best, one of the best, QBs,” Higgins told her. “I’m playing with if not the best, one of the best, WRs. That opens up things for me.”
Other Possible Patriots Free Agent Receivers
With Higgins potentially off the market, the options are definitely limited at receiver. When it comes to possible names, there are only a few guys who come to mind in terms of quality guys.
1) Cooper Kupp: Some reports indicate that Cooper Kupp might be a guy they’ll target, depending on what they’d need to give up, to acquire him from the Rams. The biggest problem with Kupp is he may not be a great long-term fix, but he’d potentially be a solid short-term upgrade and a good veteran to have in the locker room. The only question might be what the compensation would have to be, and the Patriots don’t have the luxury of giving up a lot of picks this offseason.
Considering their needs along the offensive line, particularly at tackle, they can’t afford to come up short in any area when it comes to the Draft. It’s also what probably complicates their approach with having to make any deal for a big-name player outside of free agency.
2) Chris Godwin: He’s another player who is expected to be available. The 28-year-old is coming off an ankle injury in Week 7, which prematurely ended his season and sent him into this offseason with some added uncertainty.
However, it sounds like Godwin may not even hit the marketAccording to Greg Auman of Fox Sports, Tampa Bay just adjusted the date of his contract so that it now expires next month, buying them more time to negotiate an extension.
Still, if Tampa Bay doesn’t extend him, Godwin could be a prime target for the Patriots.
3) Keenan Allen: Allen is coming off a season where he caught 70 balls for 744 yards and 7 touchdowns. The 32-year old is a tough player with good hands and would be a nice compliment to New England’s group of receivers, albeit he’s not the young guy they probably were hoping to build around. Still, Allen’s no stranger to playing in cold weather, and he might like playing in an offense with someone like Drake Maye and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. With Caleb Williams having been sacked a staggering 68 times last season, it’s possible that here in New England, Allen can potentially be more productive in this offense with Maye while also helping mentor other guys in the receiver room.
After that, the drop is considerable. Amari Cooper, Marquise Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, Stefon Diggs, and Mike Williams are among a handful of other guys who are expected to be part of this free-agent class. Hopkins looked like a shell of himself against the Eagles during Kansas City’s Super Bowl loss, while Buffalo moving on from Diggs – who by all accounts brings more trouble than he’s worth – saw them have one of their best seasons in recent years. Cooper struggled with drops last season, and at 30, he’s certainly on the downside of his career.
Overall, none of that remaining group measures up to what New England is likely looking for in terms of an explosive player in an offense that is in dire need of one.
For now, the Patriots’ WR outlook has shifted significantly in just a few days. Unfortunately, all of this adds another wrinkle for a Patriots front office facing a lot of questions but seemingly having fewer answers available this offseason.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
