Because they were one of the teams that needed to improve their wide receiver room the most this offseason, the Patriots were connected to nearly every free agent and trade candidate before the legal tampering period began. That led many to believe Alec Pierce was on his way to Foxboro, only for him to re-sign with the Colts.
That then had several other players linked to New England, one of whom was Wan'Dale Robinson, who made a name for himself during his tenure with the Giants. Although he wasn't the needle-mover the Patriots needed, he was reportedly on their radar to upgrade their roster.
It was not a move that many fans were hoping they would make, mostly given Robinson's size and lack of experience as a WR1. That led them to sign Romeo Doubs instead and remain in contention for AJ Brown via trade, while Robinson signed a four-year, $70 million deal with the Titans.
It is now being labeled one of the worst contracts of the 2026 free agency period, largely because of how much money the new regime in Tennessee was willing to give up just to get him in the door. And that makes it clear the Patriots avoided a huge mistake.
Signing Wan'Dale Robinson would have been devastating for the Patriots 2026 plans
The Patriots still need a game-changer on their offense to help elevate Drake Maye to the next level, especially now that Stefon Diggs has been released. Although Doubs will certainly help in a lot of ways, he's not the flashy name like AJ Brown, and that's another reason why Robinson would've been a mistake.
He doesn't fit what the Patriots need to upgrade their receiving corps, even more so since they already have a similar player in DeMario Douglas, and that's a big reason Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report believes the Titans massively overpaid him.
"To be clear, Robinson is a good player who has tallied over 90 receptions each of the past two years.
But Robinson isn't a difference-maker. He just isn't. He doesn't have the upside of Romeo Doubs. He certainly doesn't have the resume of Mike Evans.
However, Robinson is making more annually than both of those receivers."
As he points out, Robinson is set to make more money than Doubs with the Patriots, which would have made it an even more regrettable decision for the Patriots had they signed him to a similar contract instead.
The former Giant could be a good player, but he would have been more of a depth addition to the Patriots' roster than the massive upgrade they needed, and that price tag would have made it clear they felt he could be their missing piece, despite all the evidence to the contrary.
Fortunately, that's not a mistake they'll need to address in the future, and now they can focus on hopefully adding more talent through the draft and maybe a trade or two.