{"id":15198,"date":"2025-02-24T14:58:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T14:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15198"},"modified":"2025-02-24T14:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T14:58:08","slug":"%f0%9f%94%a5-patriots-bold-backup-plan-for-tee-higgins-revealed-by-insider-%f0%9f%9a%a8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=15198","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udd25 Patriots\u2019 Bold Backup Plan for Tee Higgins Revealed by Insider \ud83d\udea8"},"content":{"rendered":"<section>\n<div>\n<div>\n<h3>New England must add a No. 1 wideout this offseason<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/athlonsports.com\/.image\/t_share\/MjEyOTMzODEyNTIxMjgxMTUy\/usatsi_25117660.jpg\" alt=\"What's Next for Patriots if Tee Higgins Isn't Available? - Athlon Sports\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div id=\"primary\"><main id=\"mainContent\" role=\"main\"><\/p>\n<article id=\"post-2015532\">\n<div data-analytics-datalayer-category=\"ArticleContentDetails\"><!--?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ??--><!--?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ??-->The Patriots badly need to improve their wide receiver group, but New England might not receive a chance to acquire the pass-catcher who was set to hit the open market.<\/p>\n<p>All signs point to the Bengals placing their franchise tag on Tee Higgins. By doing so, Cincinnati would delay Higgins\u2019 foray into free agency by at least one year and give itself more runway to reach an extension with the star pass-catcher.<\/p>\n<p>That is obviously bad news for the Patriots, who wouldn\u2019t be able to find a similarly talented wideout in free agency. There also isn\u2019t a receiver in the 2025 draft class who\u2019s worthy of New England\u2019s No. 4 overall pick. With those factors in mind, The Athletic\u2019s Chad Graff projected how Mike Vrabel and company would move forward if Higgins never becomes truly available.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy early guess (with more reporting hopefully to come soon) is that the Pats will aggressively pursue a trade,\u201d Graff wrote in a column published Monday. \u201cThat could be as ambitious as calling New Orleans about Chris Olave or Seattle about DK Metcalf. Or it might have to be\u00a0settling for a deal with the Los Angeles Rams for Cooper Kupp.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_4361,h_2453,x_0,y_3\/c_fill,w_912,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/si\/01jmj23fr50n8mwba7bp.jpg\" alt=\"Drake Maye Explains How Bill Belichick's Influence Has Remained With  Patriots\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A trade for a higher-level wideout probably would be the best course of action for the Patriots if Higgins stays in Cincinnati. New England definitely shouldn\u2019t overpay for impending free agents like Stefon Diggs or Amari Cooper, as there still are plenty of other needs to address in Foxboro, Mass.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The \u201caggressive\u201d approach Graff anticipated probably is prudent, too, as New England can\u2019t afford to surround Drake Maye with a mediocre supporting cast in his sophomore season.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><\/main><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Patriots insider projected how New England would move forward if star wide receiver Tee Higgins never reaches NFL free agency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-england-patriots"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - 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