The quality of the free agency wide receiver class took a hit with Tee Higgins franchise-tagged. He might not be the only big name to become unavailable.
With a projected cap space of over $87 million, the New England Patriots have the resources to reshape their offense this free agency period. One of the positions to watch in that regard is wide receiver, a spot that has been a problem for the club for a number of years now.
The Patriots have financial potency and an apparent desire to “burn some cash,” but actually being in a position to do so might not be as easy as it sounds. That is particularly true at wide receiver: not every marquee option originally scheduled to enter the open market might actually do so.
The first domino to fall came on Friday night, when the Cincinnati Bengals informed Tee Higgins that they would put the franchise tag on him. The move did not come as a surprise, considering that the organization already was flirting with using the tag to keep Higgins from the market earlier this month. Still, the move officially robs the Patriots of one potential free agency target and thins out the herd.
Higgins might not be the only big name to become unavailable either.
Mike Evans, who has built a Hall of Fame career since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him seventh overall in the 2014 NFL Draft, also may not make it to the market by its opening on March 13. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, after all, the team is trying “in a major way” to retain the 30-year-old.
The interest in keeping their partnership going might be mutual as well. According to Fowler, Evans “wants to retire a Buccaneer.”
Him joining Higgins as two players realistically unavailable for the Patriots — they will not make an offer to the Bengals WR even though they theoretically could try to pry him away — would limit their options in free agency. The wideout class, after all, is not one of particular star power beyond the pair.
The top options beyond Higgins and Evans would be the Indianapolis Colts’ Michael Pittman Jr., the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Calvin Ridley, and the Arizona Cardinals’ Marquise Brown. Lower-tier options include the Buffalo Bills’ Gabe Davis, the Washington Commanders’ Curtis Samuel, and the Chicago Bears’ Darnell Mooney.
While all of those players have proven themselves as capable receivers at the NFL level, they are not the dynamic playmakers the Patriots have been lacking. Ridley might be the closest to that description, but he will also turn 30 during the 2024 season.
Luckily for New England, the draft class at the position is one of the deepest in recent memory. Headlined by Ohio State star Marvin Harrison Jr., the wide receiver group possesses both quality and quantity; the Patriots could get instant-impact players at the position beyond the first round.
When it comes to spending the available cap space, however, New England might have to look elsewhere to bolster what was a disappointing wide receiver group in 2023.
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