Patriots Get Disheartening News About Top Free Agency Target

The New England Patriots have received a disappointing update about a potential top free agency target.

Oct 20, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second half against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots will head into NFL free agency with the most available cap space of any team in the league. With that money, they could look to make some splash moves.

One of the big names that they have been linked to heavily in recent weeks has been Cincinnati Bengals' impending free agent wide receiver Tee Higgins.

Higgins would be a massive pickup for the Patriots. They need a true No. 1 wideout to pair with Drake Maye long-term. There would be no better option to fill that role than Higgins.

Unfortunately, a new update has spread doubt that New England will end up being able to land Higgins.

Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer appeared on a show with "98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak and Bertrand" recently. He made it clear that he does not see Higgins joining the Patriots this offseason.

“I still don’t like Tee Higgins to come here. I don’t," Breer said. “Here’s the thing. They offered [Brandon] Aiyuk a better deal than Pittsburgh did.  They offered Aiyuk a better deal than Cleveland did. If I remember right, again, I don’t have it in front of me, I know we talked about this before, but I think it was $32 million per on a four-year deal or he had a choice, or $30 million per year on It was a three-year deal.”

Granted, Aiyuk's decision doesn't mean anything about Higgins. It's possible that the Bengals star would love to play alongside Maye in New England for the kind of money that the Patriots could offer him.

However, Breer did make a good point. With quite a few elite contenders needing wide receiver help and having the ability to offer him lucrative money, would Higgins pass up on a Super Bowl opportunity for slightly more money with New England?

Only time will tell, but Breer made very legitimate points.

Hopefully, he ends up being wrong. Landing Higgins would immediately take the Patriots' offense to the next level.

He won't be cheap, but New England should go all-out to try to land him when free agency opens up.

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