Do Pats have a chance to land Davante Adams? Breer, Curran weigh in originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Tee Higgins may be off the table for the New England Patriots, but another star wide receiver has joined their list of potential free-agent targets.
The New York Jets released veteran Davante Adams on Tuesday, making the six-time Pro Bowler arguably the No. 1 wideout available on the free-agent market. While he’ll cost a pretty penny, the Patriots enter the offseason with an abundance of salary cap space and a desperate need to upgrade their receiver room.
So, is signing Adams a realistic possibility? Albert Breer of The MMQB shared insight during Tuesday’s Early Edition, and it sounds like Pats fans shouldn’t get their hopes up.
“I don’t think it would be at the top of his list, no,” Breer said. “I mean, you look at the way things ended for Josh McDaniels in Vegas. I think that is a question. Wherever Aaron Rodgers goes I think would naturally be a possibility, that could be the Giants. And I think Aaron Rodgers is probably gonna take less wherever he lands.
“And then, you have to remember the reason that (Adams) wanted out of Green Bay in the first place was because he wanted to go closer to home and go closer where he grew up in California, and he had the house in Vegas. So I don’t think it’d be near the top of his list of priorities. That said, I do think money is a driver for him, so you could overspend for him.”
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Breer went on to note that during Adams’ Raiders tenure, some within the organization believed “there were times when he was selfish and there were times when he was driven by money.” He wonders whether Adams and his hefty contract would be the right fit for new Pats head coach Mike Vrabel, who hopes to build a team-first culture in Foxboro.
“Everyone I’ve talked to who played for or coached with Mike Vrabel at Tennessee says it takes a certain type of player to play in his environment,” Breer said. “And if you are going to jump in and make a guy the highest-paid player on your team right away — I think Vrabel is very cognizant of whoever my first draft pick is, whoever the first guy I pay is, the rest of the locker room is going to look at that and say, ‘That’s what you represent.’ I think that’s an important nuance to this whole thing.”
NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots insider Tom E. Curran believes Adams is the best receiver option available. Even if the odds of Adams picking New England as his next destination are slim, it would behoove Vrabel and Co. to at least make a real effort to pair him with prized young quarterback Drake Maye.
“I think Tee Higgins, for instance, would be a harder sell than Davante Adams,” Curran said. “I mean, you know what Davante Adams is. He has a proven track record of excellent play, he’s not a dink, he is a high-level player.
“The question at the outset was, ‘Is it a possibility?’ It’s not a likelihood, but the Patriots have a shot if they want to go do it.”
You can watch the full Early Edition segment below, " target="_blank" class="link"> or on YouTube:
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