The New England Patriots will have to keep looking for the next addition to their receiving corps.
The Pats' rumored top free agency target, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, is staying in The Queen City for another year. The Bengals placed a $26.2 million franchise tag on Higgins, who has been a rumored Patriots free agency target since the end of the regular season, on Monday afternoon.
NFL insider Adam Schefter shared the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding that "This marks the second straight year that the Bengals have used their franchise tag on Higgins."
Higgins had an excellent year with the Bengals, scoring 10 touchdowns and 911 receiving yards in 12 games. Following the season, he was one of the top free agency targets in the league, though rumors have been swirling about Cincinnati's potential use of the franchise tag since December. New England certainly could use Higgins' talent, especially paired with star quarterback Drake Maye.
New England wasn't the only club interested in Higgins, whom The Athletic named 2025's number one free agent. The Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders, and Denver Broncos were reportedly also interested in the 26-year-old. The Patriots, with the most abundant salary cap space in the league, were expected to make big plays for Higgins, including offering him a $30 million salary, one of the highest salaries of any receiver.
However, as the offseason progressed, the Patriots reportedly gave up on securing Higgins and are looking to build out their offensive and defensive lines. They've been connected to all sorts of names at wide receiver, including Seattle Seahawks' DK Metcalf and New Orleans Saints Chris Olave. Plus, the Patriots have the 4th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, meaning they have the opportunity to pull talent out of this year's draft class, or trade the pick to another team.
Now that Higgins is finally, officially off the table, head coach Mike Vrabel and the Patriots front office can focus their efforts elsewhere, and hopefully deliver Patriots fans their first winning season since 2021.
