The Patriots have fallen short in several wide receiver pursuits this year, missing out on two players who were selected in the first round of this year’s draft – Xavier Worthy and Xavier Legette – and failing to complete a trade for 49ers wideout Brandon Aiyuk despite an aggressive pitch. Armed with a talented young QB in Drake Maye and a great deal of cap space, New England could certainly renew its efforts to land a top-flight pass catcher in 2025.
Enter the Bengals’ Tee Higgins, who is playing out the current season on the franchise tag and who has long been expected to hit the open market in March 2025. Indeed, Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal says the Pats will be “heavily involved” in the Higgins sweepstakes if the Clemson product should become available.
While many of the reasons underlying the expectation that Higgins will hit free agency are still present – including, for instance, the mega-deal that the Bengals are planning to authorize for fellow WR Ja’Marr Chase at some point – there have been several recent developments that could increase the odds that he will remain in Cincinnati. Quarterback Joe Burrow has expressed his confidence that the club will do what it can to keep its enviable 1-2 receiver tandem intact, and Higgins’ recent change in representation could also be viewed as a sign that he hopes to stay in the Queen City.
It will nonetheless be difficult for the Bengals to keep both Chase and Higgins in the fold, so there is still a good chance that Higgins will defect to another club in a few months’ time (assuming Cincinnati does not deploy a second franchise tag, which could be cost-prohibitive). With a league-leading ~$131MM in projected cap room, money would be no object for the Patriots.
As Giardi observes, however, Higgins may not want to take his talents to Foxborough. Although Maye has shown promise, he is far from a proven commodity at this point, and under the stewardship of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, the Patriots rank near the bottom of the league in terms of both total offense and points per game. The club added two receivers in this year’s draft in Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, but neither player has made an impact on a unit that generally lacks high-end talent.
More draft picks, a possible OC change, and more free agent dollars invested in the offense could of course lead to improved output, and Higgins would certainly be a key piece of such a turnaround. On the other hand, he should have a number of suitors, and it is fair to wonder if New England will represent his ideal landing spot, especially since he will presumably not have a player of Chase’s caliber to draw the attention of opposing defenses.
Following a dominant performance in a must-win game against the Broncos last night, Higgins has posted career-highs in terms of yards per game (78.0) and touchdowns (10). Despite missing five games due to injury in 2024, he is also approaching career-best marks in targets and receptions.
Wide receivers as good and as young as Higgins almost never hit free agency. The Patriots have a great young quarterback prospect, a ton of cap space, and a desperate need for both a top receiver and offensive line help. No excuse for them to not go hard after any of the latter two that are available.
Higgins will get paid whether he heads to a playoff-caliber team or one far from ready to compete. New England has too many question marks, including a terrible O-line and suspect coaching staff. Chances are he’ll be looking to teams like the Chargers, Buffalo, Philly or Houston before gambling on NE getting its act together in the next couple of years
They might have to win a bidding war. They can afford to.
Money talks…playoff team or not. If the Pats throw the most money at him he will come.
He is young enough to chase the money, but if he’s driven more by winning than cash at this point of his career, the current iteration of the Patriots would be near the bottom of the list (with Cleveland and Carolina).
That second NFL contract is the most lucrative in the NFL and what players strive for
Wolf needs to be fired
Without a shred of hate towards the Patriots, this begs the question: why would Higgins sign with NE
They may find ways to outbid other teams, but that doesn’t mean they come close to a desirable situation.
It also ignores obvious scenarios like:
SF trading Deebo and going after Higgins
His Madden rating getting the Jets attention
LAC pairing him with Ladd
WAS pairing him with Terry
JAX with BTJ
… all of which are more likely than CIN breaking “tradition” and spending big with Chase looming over the franchise like impending doom
I doubt the SF one would happen, but those others are enticing. With that said, Maye looks really good and the Patriots have a ton of money. Bidding war and QB are two huge selling points for a receiver.
If he’s chasing a ring, NE shouldn’t be on his radar
I would think the Chargers would in on him too and their situation is admittedly better. I think NE would have to outbid them by a lot to get Tee to come there.
I see chargers bringing back Allen on cheap. I don’t see them spending big on WRs. They have their #1 in McConkey could use Allen as a #2 and Johnston Davis as 3 and 4. Then bring in veteran depth. Justin Watson from KC. Greg Dortch ARZ
I see them spending money someone backs like Najee Harris and bring back Dobbins.
Allen and McConkey are both slot receivers almost exclusively, not a good fit. I could see Mike Williams but I wouldn’t want that if I was a Chargers fan.
Allen has been moved around a lot in his career not just at slot receiver. He spends 60% of his time in slot but 40% on the outside. He’s definitely use to lining up outside and all over the field cause he did it many years with the chargers lining up all over. McConkey lines up at about a 70 slot 30 outside ratio. Allen can play outside and has throughout his career which is what the chargers need. An experienced wr in a room full of young WRs.
Saying it’s not a good fit is silly cause he’s familiar with Herbert having spent all but one season as a charger and can play pretty much anywhere on the field. Hes experienced enough to play wherever the chargers need him.
Tag and trade
How is a report like this NOT tampering??? If he’s going to report that as they WILL be involved in his free agency, that means there’s an inside source. The good old patriot way, if you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying.
Because the Patriots didn’t say it a reporter did and you can’t penalize a team for something a reporter said,
I’d say nice try but it was actually pretty lame
It’s not reporting if the “reporter” says the team WILL be in on tee Higgins if the team didn’t say that.
And if I report that someone in your family said you were moving to Istanbul does that make it factual?
Boots, still butt hurt little ball. Use your head for something besides a place to hang your hat.
When a team openly expresses interest in a player who is under contract to another organization even though that interest is said to be AFTER said player becomes a free agent: isn’t that TAMPERING ??
Where do you see a team openly expressing anything in this story?
Sauce Gardner is on the instagram telling Higgins “don’t sign with the Jets”.