By Conor Ryan
March 3, 2025 | 5:47 PM
The dream of Tee Higgins reeling in passes from Drake Maye in Foxborough appears to be over.
The Bengals announced on Monday that they have placed a franchise tag on Higgins for the second consecutive season — preventing the star wideout from hitting free agency. Higgins will stay in Cincy for at least one more season for a guaranteed $26 million, although the team’s goal is to sign him to a long-term deal moving forward.
The Bengals’ move to retain their WR2 throws a major wrench into New England’s plans of using its NFL-leading $127 million in cap space to upgrade their offense via free agency.
Even with some questions over how Higgins would thrive as a No. 1 wideout elsewhere after benefiting on a Cincinnati receiver corps led by Ja’Marr Chase, the Patriots would have welcomed those concerns given his raw talent.
Last season, Higgins reeled in 73 catches for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns in just 12 games with the Bengals. Higgins has recorded 34 touchdowns over his five seasons in the NFL, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark in two of those campaigns.
So with Higgins now off the board, where do the Patriots go from here this offseason?
Beyond Higgins’ outright talent, signing a No. 1 wideout in free agency would have been the easiest path forward for New England this spring.
Not only do the Patriots have plenty of money to spend, but signing any stud receiver like Higgins would also allow New England to retain valuable draft capital that would otherwise have to be moved if the team pursued trades instead to bring in talent.
That scenario where New England has to trade for a wideout is becoming more and more tangible moving forward, especially with Higgins initially leading a very top-heavy class of free-agent receivers.
A solid contingency plan for New England would be opening the checkbook for Bucs WR Chris Godwin.
Godwin, 29, is coming off an ugly season-ending injury last season. The 2020 Super Bowl champion only played seven games in 2024 after suffering a dislocated ankle. But prior to that injury, Godwin was a force in Tampa Bay, catching 50 passes for 576 yards and five touchdowns over those seven games.
Godwin already has four 1,000-yard seasons in his career. And even with those concerns over that ankle moving forward, Godwin offers the highest upside in free agency now that Higgins is no longer an option.
But much like Higgins, there’s also no guarantee that Godwin even gets to free agency.
“If Chris Godwin gets to free agency, don’t be surprised if the Patriots get involved,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote this weekend. “But the Bucs have made Godwin a priority, and the feeling around the league is the team will make him a Buc for life. With Tee Higgins expected to receive the franchise tag, Godwin would be far and away the top free agent receiver.”
Other potential wideout targets in free agency for New England include Amari Cooper and Stefon Diggs.
Even though New England won’t be able to give Higgins a blank check this spring, not signing him to a deal worth an annual payout of $30 million or more does give the Patriots a chance to allocate that money elsewhere in free agency — especially when it comes to building up both the offensive line (Ronnie Stanley) and defensive line (Milton Williams).
This move invites more risk for New England, but they could look to add a star talent via the NFL Draft — especially in the first round.
But if two-way star CB/WR Travis Hunter isn’t available when New England gets on the clock at No. 4, the Patriots may not want to reach for a young wideout like Tetairoa McMillan at that spot on the draft leaderboard.
If New England does either move down from No. 4 or potentially packages Day 2 picks in order to sneak back up into the first round, the Patriots could be in the mix for a blue-chip talent like Penn State TE Tyler Warren, Texas WR Matthew Golden, or Missouri WR Luther Burden III.
This might be the most realistic option for New England, especially if Godwin also re-ups with Tampa Bay.
While it would be unfortunate for New England to give up draft capital this offseason given the number of vacancies on their roster, the Patriots have the money on hand to both absorb some untenable contracts and even re-up players looking for a fresh start and a new pay day moving forward.
Even with his age (31) and injury history, Cooper Kupp still has a lot of raw talent and would provide a veteran presence in New England, while NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry floated former Patriot Jakobi Meyers as a potential offseason target for New England.
Despite Seattle Seahawks star DK Metcalf noting in January that playing in Massachusetts would not be “desirable,” those comments seemingly haven’t precluded New England from “kicking the tires” on a possible Metcalf trade.
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