Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel weighs in on the team's need at the wide receiver position
FOXBOROUGH, Mass – It's no secret that the New England Patriots have a major need at the wide receiver position. And many fans were hoping the team would address that during the first few days of free agency. While they brought in former Buffalo Bills receiver Mack Hollins on a two-year, $8.4 million deal that maxes out […]
FOXBOROUGH, Mass – It's no secret that the New England Patriots have a major need at the wide receiver position. And many fans were hoping the team would address that during the first few days of free agency.
While they brought in former Buffalo Bills receiver Mack Hollins on a two-year, $8.4 million deal that maxes out at $10.4 million, the team still does need a true No. 1 target.
So, does Mike Vrabel plan to address that in free agency or is he focused on the draft?
"We'll continue to look at the wide receiver position as it relates to free agency, explore every option with other teams, and potentially then we'll get to the point where we're looking at the draft," Vrabel told reporters on Thursday. "There's just a lot of time, and I know that everybody is like, it's over in free agency. It's never over. And (Alonzo Highsmith), he keeps reminding me and everybody else of that, because he's been around a lot of times.
"He's like, there's players that are going to become available, whether it be now or whether it be in May or after training camp. He's like, I've seen it enough to know that there's going to be someone that's currently not on our roster that's going to help us win a game this year. He's just not in Foxborough.”
One player that has been linked to the Patriots in recent days is former Rams receiver Cooper Kupp. The Boston Sports Journal's Mike Giardi reports that the Patriots have reached out to Kupp, but the wideout has expressed that he would like to stay on the West Coast. However, Giardi adds that Kupp hasn't closed any doors.
MassLive's Karen Guregian also reported that Kupp's "asking price at the moment is a bit too steep," and there are five teams in the mix.
Receiver is just one of the numerous positions that Patriots still have to address this offseason, but luckily, there's still plenty of time before Week 1 in September.
