The Patriots‘ wide receiver room right now is looking about as intimidating as a decaf coffee. Rookie Ja’Lynn Polk showed flashes but wasn’t a game-changer. JuJu Smith-Schuster struggled and was released after just one season, and the rest of the unit lacked a true difference-maker.
It was like expecting a blockbuster movie but getting a straight-to-streaming release instead. Now, they’ve got cap space-lots of it-but finding that true WR1 has been tricky. The team wanted Tee Higgins, but it looks like the Cincinnati Bengals are keeping him via the franchise tag. That said, the free agency market for WRs is pretty thin now. Then, there is Chris Godwin. But he’s expected to stay put in Tampa Bay. Now, the talk of the street is that Mike Vrabel’s Patriots tried to trade for veteran wideout DK Metcalf. However, that’s not going to work out for them, either. The reason?
Well, it’s not because the Seahawks aren’t ready to part ways with Metcalf. In fact, there are a couple of other reasons. Firstly, they haven’t worked with Metcalf before. And second, dropping a massive paycheck on a guy they’ve never had in their system? Yeah, not exactly their style. But why so? Let’s be real-Metcalf isn’t signing a discount deal. The guy signed a 3-year, $72M contract extension with the Seahawks back in 2022. That said, the veteran WR will be entering his final year of contract. Now, here’s the deal: Metcalf is entering the 2025 season with a cap hit of $31M.
Sure, the Patriots have an abundant cap space heading into the offseason. But if they want him to lead their WR corps, they’ll have to deal with an upcoming contract extension-and a hefty one-no strings attached.
Additionally, besides the Patriots, the Seattle team has spoken with the Green Bay Packers to trade Metcalf. Now, that’s where things get pretty interesting. If reports are to be believed, the Packers are ready to offer the Seahawks a high pick and a young player in exchange for Metcalf. So, it is likely Metcalf is traded to the Packers. Now, if we connect the dots, Metcalf is probably not going to land in New England. The kicker? Back in January, Metcalf admitted that he would not want to live in Foxborough. Sure, his contract does not have a no-trade clause, but here we are: talking about the NFL rumors.
Mike Vrabel wants to re-establish a winning culture
The Patriots will start their 2025 season after back-to-back 4-13 regular season finishes. Surely, Mike Vrabel and his crew don’t want a repeat of poor seasons in 2025. That said, Vrabel is on a hunt to build a solid roster this coming offseason, especially their O-line. For that, the team has a couple of options this offseason. For starters, they’ll trade for a veteran WR, considering the team is lacking a true WR1.
Second, they’re going to sign in free agency. But it’s Mike Vrabel who will prefer signing over trading. The reason? Well, the New England team has a cap space of nearly $130 million in 2025. That means the team would rather sign a player instead of giving up draft picks in a trade. The kicker?
They wanted to sign Higgins or Godwin in free agency. But the thing is, the Bengals are expected to keep Higgins and Godwin is probably going to stay put in Tampa. That left them with Metcalf, but he’d come along with a hefty payday. But let’s be real-it’s not an issue for Vrabel. You see, the head coach is looking to re-establish the winning culture of the team. For that, he made it clear to the front office to target tough and high-character players who can fit into the winning culture of the team. Long story short: the New England team won’t just go after flashy names. In fact, they’re expected to target mid-level free agents. For instance, if the Pats can’t sign the top choices, they have a Plan B, C, or even D for every position.
One such example is left tackle. Currently, their top choice is Ronnie Stanley of the Ravens. If they miss out on him too, they would go for Dan Moore of the Steelers and Cam Robinson of the Vikings. Besides, AlaricJackson was an option, too. But nope, the Rams decided to offer him a contract extension earlier.
On top of that, the Patriots have the 4th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. That said, it’s pretty much certain that Mike Vrabel and Co. are gearing up to build a strong O-line for Drake Maye.
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