This Will Give Patriots Fans Hope For Potential Tee Higgins Trade

Calvin Ridley no longer is an option for the Patriots, but there still are ways New England can dramatically improve its receiving corps this offseason.

Jerod Mayo and company could take a wide receiver with one of their top picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, which features a very deep pool of talent at the position. But if the Patriots are looking for more of a sure thing at wideout, they might survey the trade market.

Tee Higgins would be an obvious target if New England chooses that path. The 2020 second-round pick reportedly asked out of Cincinnati after receiving the Bengals' franchise tag, and the Patriots have the salary cap space to give Higgins a new long-term deal if they acquire him. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer believes the Bengals "really do intend" to hang onto the 25-year-old, but he sees a blockbuster on the horizon.

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"It's not hard to see how this could turn into an A.J. Brown situation, where the team gets an offer close to the draft that it can't refuse," Breer wrote in a column published Wednesday. "So my guess would be eventually Higgins gets dealt."

To add more smoke to this situation, New England reportedly has already been in contact with Cincinnati about potential trades, though it's unclear if Higgins was the point of emphasis in those conversations.

The Patriots should make a strong effort to acquire Higgins or another top-level receiver. New England currently features one of the weakest wideout groups in the league, and that would be troublesome if the franchise plans to start a rookie quarterback from Day 1 this fall.