For months now, we have heard that the New England Patriots will be hotly pursuing Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins in free agency.
After all, the Patriots are in desperate need of weapons, and Higgins is the top wide out hitting the open market.
But that doesn't mean New England will even have a chance to sign him.
Momentum is building toward Higgins remaining with the Bengals, and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network feels that the star pass-catcher may just end up re-upping.
"I don't know if Tee Higgins is going to be free, but I wouldn't bet my life on it," Rapoport said on the Next Pats Podcast. "... I need to see whether or not he gets tagged first, because that's the only thing. Do they tag him a second time and say, 'We're just going to hold him and try to do a deal with him.'"
Rapoport did add that he thinks the Pats have as "good of a chance as anyone" to land Higgins if he does, in fact, hit free agency, but they may not even have a chance to negotiate with him.
Higgins himself said toward the end of the season that getting paid like a No. 1 receiver isn't necessarily his top priority, which means that the Patriots having the most cap room in the NFL may not help them all that much here.
The 26-year-old clearly loves it in Cincinnati, but it will just come down to whether or not the Bengals feel they can afford to re-sign both Higgins and, eventually, Ja'Marr Chase, especially with Joe Burrow already making big money.
Higgins caught 73 passes for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games this past season. He entered the league as a second-round pick back in 2020.
