![\"Patriots](\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1200\/MjA5MTkxMzUzNTc2MzM1MjA0\/usatsi_24189249.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe New England Patriots have a talented quarterback in Drake Maye entering his second NFL season, a new and bold head coach in Mike Vrabel coming home to the organization for which he played, and more salary cap space than any other team in the league — all of which means fireworks are likely on the horizon,<\/p>\n
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Among the team’s top priorities this offseason will be to add a star wide receiver to begin building a rapport with Maye, as Vrabel rebuilds the roster in his image.<\/p>\n
Trade discussions involving the likes of DK Metcalf and DJ Moore of the the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears, respectively, have floated around the league for the weeks — and New England owns the No. 4 overall pick in this year’s draft, which can facilitate that kind of a deal.<\/p>\n However, free agency should also present opportunities, including one involving Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals used the franchise tag to keep the former second-round pick in Cincinnati through 2025, but free agency seems the likely outcome this time around if no extension is reached before March.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Jan. 30, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report predicted that Higgins and the Patriots will find their way to an agreement once free agency opens.<\/p>\n “Maye flashed franchise-quarterback potential as a rookie but was saddled with arguably the league’s worst receiving corps. New head coach Mike Vrabel should hope to change things quickly, and adding Higgins would be a tremendous first step,”\u00a0Knox wrote. “Equipped with a league-high [$123 million] in projected cap space, New England can win any potential bidding war for Higgins’ services.”<\/p>\n Spotrac projects Higgins’ market value at approximately\u00a0$25.4 million\u00a0annually over a new four-year contract ($102 million total). Higgins has amassed 330 receptions for\u00a04,595 receiving yards\u00a0and 34 touchdown receptions in 70 games played across five NFL seasons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The New England Patriots have a talented quarterback in Drake Maye entering his second NFL season, a new and bold head coach in Mike Vrabel coming home… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"\n\n<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>