Patriots are still holding onto a glimmer of hope that Tee Higgins could find his way to New England despite Bengals' decision
Listen, it's no secret that the New England Patriots were high on Tee Higgins before the Cincinnati Bengals franchise tagged him to get a long-term deal done. It's been reported that New England will now focus their efforts elsewhere to bring in a star receiver. However, one NFL Insider floated a slim possibility that Higgins could […]
Listen, it's no secret that the New England Patriots were high on Tee Higgins before the Cincinnati Bengals franchise tagged him to get a long-term deal done.
It's been reported that New England will now focus their efforts elsewhere to bring in a star receiver. However, one NFL Insider floated a slim possibility that Higgins could still make his way to the Patriots.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler revealed that "people around the league are skeptical as to whether the Bengals can pay Chase, Higgins and Hendrickson, but they are going to try." But, if they are unable to make it happen, there is an expectation that "rival teams (will) try try to entice Cincinnati with a potential trade package leading up to the draft, especially if a receiver-needy team such as New England doesn't get what it needs in free agency."
While it's unlikely to happen since the Bengals have a history of keeping their good players, anything is possible in the NFL.
And we've seen it happen before.
In 2022, the Green Bay Packers placed the franchise tag on Davante Adams; however, he informed that team that he would not play under the tag for the season. Instead, the Packers were forced to trade the receiver to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for their 2022 first round pick and a second round pick. Adams went on to sign a five-year, $141.25M deal with the Raiders.
This offseason is going to be exciting, but also chaotic for the Patriots, and it's expected that Vrabel will do whatever it takes to improve the roster. Plus, the league-leading $127.7 million in available cap money doesn't hurt.
