The Patriots are expected to be aggressive in free agency as new head coach Mike Vrabel looks to retool a deficient roster. It also wouldn't be a surprise to see the team swing for the fences in terms of a major trade.
The biggest free agency prize on this year's market is wide receiver Tee Higgins. We all know the Patriots' wide receiver room needs serious upgrading. As talented as Drake Maye is, he needs to be surrounded with better talent at the skill positions, not just the offensive line.
When Patriots' Executive Vice President of Player Personnel Eliot Wolf met with the media at the Scouting Combine last week, his comments seemed concerning and a bit contradictory to his head coach.
“We’re gonna do what we think is best," Wolf told WEEI Radio. "And we’re gonna, you know, we’re gonna — again, we have to do what’s necessary. So last year, we didn’t do enough of what was necessary. This year, we have to do what’s necessary to improve the team.”
That's all well and good, but is it concerning that the Patriots don't view Higgins as a player worth offering $30 million per year to?
There's no reason for the Patriots to be cheap when signing their next top wide receiver
The Patriots will probably have to overspend to land high-quality free agents. New England is coming off back to back 4-13 seasons and hasn't won a playoff game since Super Bowl LIII.
Vrabel appears OK with backing up the Brinks truck. If the Bengals place the franchise tag on Higgins and the Patriots have to look elsewhere, they may have no choice but to overspend on veterans like Keenan Allen or Stefon Diggs who are on the wrong side of 30. Big-time trades for guys such as D.K. Metcalf or Deebo Samuel are in the realm of possibility.
Wolf would not say if the Patriots would spend all of their salary cap money but did note that it wouldn't be the most responsible thing to do. Both Wolf and Vrabel have said that they'd each have the final say in terms of the roster.
Swell.
No matter what moves the Patriots make, they need to be quality ones. Everyone in this region clamored for Higgins to call Foxboro home, but it keeps looking like that isn't going to happen. And that's reason to be concerned as the Patriots navigate towards one of the most important offseasons in franchise history.