Patriots are said to be interested in underwhelming free agent receiver

There are a lot of high expectations surrounding the Patriots' new regime and how they will handle their first free agency without Bill Belichick making the decisions. With around $100 million to spend and plenty of roster holes to fill, the hope from fans is the team will make a big splash and sign some quality talent, especially on offense. But that may not be Jerod Mayo's plan.

The new head coach had initially told reporters he was ready to "burn some cash" when asked about free agency, which was music to fans' ears. It was never the approach Belichick took no matter how much help the roster needed, and when he did spend the money, it wasn't on game-changing players the team could really utilize.

But Mayo has since walked back those comments, presumably due to the demand of upper management, and has alluded to potentially saving money instead. Although they shouldn't just throw unlimited cash at any random player, they have way too much not to spend much of it, especially when the roster is as bleak as it is.

It's unclear how they'll actually handle roster building once free agency begins and it'll remain unpredictable since this is the first year this staff is together. Typically, fans wouldn't expect much when Belichick was around, yet this year is different.

Patriots are said to be interested in underwhelming free agent receiver

Because the team has needed a clear WR1 for a long time, there has been a belief they will pursue one of the top free agents to fill that void with a veteran. The likes of Mike Evans, Michael Pittman Jr., and Calvin Ridley are expected to hit the market, allowing the Patriots to take a shot at selling the new culture to nab a top player.

The likeliest of names has been Evans because the Bucs will reportedly not franchise tag him, unlike the Colts with Pittman Jr. or even the Bengals with Tee Higgins. However, new reports suggest the Patriots are intrigued by a name that hasn't been discussed thus far: Texans receiver Noah Brown, who spent the first five years of his career with the Cowboys.

It's not exactly the player fans were hoping for, but according to the staff at MassLive, that's a guy they're seriously looking at this offseason.

“An intriguing name among NFL teams, the Patriots included, is Texans wide receiver Noah Brown."

The 28-year-old has mostly recorded pedestrian numbers throughout his career, but to be fair, he's never been the #1 guy on the two teams he's been with. He had the best season of his career with the Texans in 2023, totaling 33 receptions for 567 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 17.2 yards per catch.

It's an impressive stat line, considering the Texans had a rookie quarterback, and Brown played behind Nico Collins and Tank Dell, who both had standout years as well.

He could be a solid piece of the Patriots offense in 2024, there's no denying that. However, the hope was that Mayo and Co. would bring in more top-name offensive talent first and foremost. That may not be their plan, though.

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