Bedard: With Tee Higgins tagged, where the WR market stands for Patriots and other notes

There has been a bunch of wide receiver news in the past few days. Let's go over it and where the Patriots stand before we get to some leftover notes from the combine:

UPDATE: Davante Adams will be released by the Jets.

- The Bengals have officially designated Tee Higgins as the team's franchise player ahead of tomorrow's deadline "with the intent of continuing to work toward a long-term deal in Cincinnati."

 - The 49ers traded Deebo Samuel to the Commanders for a fifth-round pick.

 - Bucs will not tag WR Chris Godwin, but both sides are working towards an extension.

 - 49ers are open to trading WR Brandon Aiyuk.

 - Seahawks WR DK Metcalf isn't on the market right now, but that hasn't stopped teams from asking about him.

 - Both Cooper Kupp and Davante Adams are available via trade but may have to be released.

 - Raiders are shopping TE Michael Mayer.

BSJ ANALYSIS

 - Like I reported out of the Senior Bowl, the Patriots are prioritizing beefing up both lines. That's the focus, but they also want more weapons.

 - The Patriots would absolutely be in on Higgins if he was on the open market. Now that he isn't, things get very complicated. I wouldn't totally rule him out, but it's going to take a while and by that time, the Patriots hopefully will be set at receiver.

The deadline to reach a contract extension with a franchise-tagged player is July 15th. Most in the NFL doubt the Bengals will find a way to sign Higgins, Ja'Marr Chase and Trey Hendrickson to contract extensions. This could get messy at the end of the extension window between Higgins and the Bengals. This could even continue into training camp with a hold-in. But know this: owner Mike Brown is stubborn. Most likely, Higgins sticks at least for a year.

 - The Patriots were not in on Samuel, and they shouldn't have been. Not a great fit for the offense and he's oft-injured and has a lot of miles on him. Possibly if he was released. Why would the Patriots give up a fifth-round pick for a player worth half his $17 million contract - and he can leave after the season? If he had more term left on his contract then maybe it could have been a conversation.

 - Godwin is near the top of the Patriots' list if he is available. That's something to monitor as the Bucs try to lock him up. Godwin's market would be robust if he became a free agent, and you have to think that his agents will push a hard deal. Will the Bucs agree?

"Jason [Licht] has been working [on] it," said coach Todd Bowles. "Obviously, Chris is a great player, and I love him to death, and we want him back here every way possible. Obviously, we have to heal and there's medical things going on right there and they're trying to work through that but hopefully we can get them back because he was on a tear before he got hurt.

"If there was anybody on the team I thought could come back from an injury that I would pick, that I would bet on, it would be him. Because his work ethic, his confidence, the way he attacks treatment, the way he tries every day to be the best he could be. He's probably the best at it on our team."

- The Patriots figure to be in on Aiyuk, considering they had a trade and contract worked out before Aiyuk stayed with the 49ers. Aiyuk tore his ACL and MCL in a Week 7 game against the Chiefs and figures to be on the shelf until at least near the start of the season. Plus, he probably wouldn't be at full strength until 2026. It's possible the Patriots might want the 49ers to eat some of the $21 million Aiyuk is owed for 2025. 

 - The Patriots also have trade interest in Metcalf and AJ Brown of the Eagles, if they're made available.

"Where things stand? I'm not sure (what you mean)," said GM John Schneider. "He's on our team. Yeah, yeah. He's a big, strong, fast, physical receiver."

 - Patriots would have interest in Adams and Kupp - if they are released. There's too much work to do in the draft to rebuild this roster for the Patriots to give up draft compensation for older or problematic (Samuel) players. Adams did very well in Josh McDaniels' offense and any personal issues are overblown. Most of the issues in Vegas were with the QBs. Kupp would be an option down the list if others don't a materialize.

 - It's questionable whether McDaniels would recommend Mayer to Mike Vrabel and Ryan Cowden. McDaniels certainly thought enough of Mayer to trade up, with GM Dave Ziegler, in the second round of the 2023 draft (38 and 141) to take Mayer 35th overall. He had just 27 catches for 304 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games as a rookie and the team drafted Brock Bowers last year. Mayer missed seven games in 2024 due to a personal reason.

COMBINE LEFTOVERS

Browns GM Andrew Berry on Myles Garrett:

"We've had plenty of dialogue. But ultimately my responsibility is to make the decisions that are best, best for the Browns and having Myles a part in the organization is a huge piece of that. ...  Our interest is in keeping Myles in Cleveland. ... It would go to what I said before, where we don't have an interest in trading Myles. He's a big part of our team. 

This is another negotiation that could get ugly as we get into training camp. The Patriots will have cap space left at that time (remember, it's about cash) so I wouldn't rule out them making a push. But the Browns are not going to give in easy.

Berry on Mike Vrabel with the Browns:

"Yeah, Mike's awesome. I think it starts with, he has this infectious energy. He's a ball coach. He loves being on the grass, he loves being with players, he loves developing young coaches. I think the other thing that's very understated about Mike. You got to understand, Mike was a highly accomplished player at Ohio State, highly accomplished player in New England, coached big-time football, great DC (defensive coordinator) in Houston, and then a coach of the year in Tennessee. And despite all these accomplishments, he has the humility of a first-time QC (quality control) coach. I think that that's something that's really endearing to the people that work with him. He can coach any position on the field, and he has more knowledge in his pinky finger than probably most people would in 20 years of football. New England's very, very, very fortunate to hire him and I think he'll do a good job."

Titans coach Brian Callahan on where he would play Travis Hunter:

"I would say you probably start him, he probably starts at corner. And then you find ways to interject him into the offense as he gets more comfortable, he plays more and more offensively. But I think corner is probably his starting point, in my opinion, you might get varying opinions on that. And I think he's got a real role as a receiver."

Callahan on the difficulty of offensive linemen transitioning to the NFL from the college game:

"I think there's a challenge to it because what they do in college is so different than what they're asked to do in the NFL. Usually you find some version of what they do that's good, whether they're a good run blocker or natural pass protector. And you know there's going to be some development that has to take place. There's going to be a part of their game that they're going to have to get better at. And they're playing a different caliber of player too, which some of these tackles, they don't realize how good every week there's a $100 million pass rusher on the other side. So yeah, there's development that goes into it. And you have to be able to do that. That's the key for the offensive lineman is how quickly they can take to that coaching and perform."

Dan Campbell on new DC Terrell Williams

"He's an outstanding teacher. Outstanding teacher, great human being, somebody that's team first, hard worker. I think he's got good vision for what he wants to do. And certainly, I know what Vrabel's gonna want to do out there. They've worked together. He's just top notch, like, that was the hardest thing. I got Terrell and then a year later, he's gone. You know, he just comes in. I was fortunate to get Kacy Rodgers here after that, but he's -- they're going to be very happy with him, man. He's one of the best D-Line coaches in league -- if not, the best. He and Kacy, I think, are one and two."

Aaron Glenn on Williams

"Listen, he's a big man that understands D-Line play, but he's a very gentleman also. So, I think the players are going to be able to relate to him really, really well, and he's very smart, so for him getting a chance to call it, I can see him doing that and he's going to do a good job."

Ravens GM Eric Decosta on Ronnie Stanley (by far the Patriots' top OT option):

"Ronnie and I did a deal last time, so that's great. He and I have a good friendship, we've known each other for a long time. He's got a great agent, Kim Miale. You know, you never want to say 100 percent, but I feel good that we'll have a good, healthy debate process. We're going to meet with Kim in Indy this week and I'm optimistic that we'll be able to get a deal done."

Bills coach Sean McDermott on hiring Mike Pellegrino?

"Well, number one division, we basically swapped with New England and with coach Booker going there and then Mike coming here. So happy to have Mike and his family. I think more than anything, one of the things that came across was just really what they've done defensively there, in particular under coach Belichick on the defensive side with some of the way that they've shaped their coverage packages, their zone, their man-to-man, and their development of some of those players that they've had in the back end. So I think that's probably the biggest thing that drew me to Mike and spending some time with him. And then also some of the schemes, like I said, as well. So, Mike, if you know his background, is a John Hopkins guy, so he's extremely smart and can never go wrong hiring smart guys that work hard."

Andy Reid basically said the Chiefs are in the OT market as well:

"Yeah, we're keeping everything, everything wide open there as we do this thing, and really digging in on what's available, potentially in free agent, what's available in the draft. And it's probably too early to really go there, but that's a position that we're looking at for sure."

Giants GM Joe Schoen on Ryan Cowden leaving the Giants for the Patriots:

"I've known Ryan for a long time, so I guess it will be 25 years ago. He was a scouting assistant, and I was coming in to replace him as a scouting assistant. He was in my wedding. I was in his wedding. He really taught me the ropes early on in the scouting industry, and we've been really good friends since. You're getting a hard worker, a really really good leader. You're getting a hell of an evaluator. Really good move by coach Vrabel and the Patriots organization to come after Ryan, and he's going to do a good job for you guys.