This story originally appeared in the Globe’s Sunday Football Notes. R ead the rest here. The NFL told teams this past week that the salary cap for the 2025 season will be between $277.5 million and $281.5 million. The league and the NFLPA will agree upon the final figure, but the current projection features a significant bump for the second straight year. The Patriots are expected to have the most cap space in the league, working with more than $125 million. The next closest teams are Las Vegas (approximately $100 million) and Washington (approximately $80 million). So, how might the Patriots spend their money? Wide receiver Tee Higgins is the biggest name to watch. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been extremely vocal about keeping the receiving core of Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase together. The cap increase could help the team juggle new deals for Higgins and tight end Mike Gesicki, as well as extensions for Chase and defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Higgins and Chase now share the same agent, Rocky Arceneaux, which may facilitate negotiations. The Bengals are slated to have approximately $50 million in room for the 2025 season. The franchise tag window opened Feb. 18 and will close March 4 , so Cincinnati likely will place the franchise tag on Higgins if it is unable to sign him to a long-term contract before the deadline. Once Higgins is on the tag, the parties have until July 15 to reach an extension for the upcoming season. The tag would eliminate the possibility of Higgins outright signing with another team when the league’s negotiation period begins at noon March 10. If they are unable to come to an agreement, then Higgins will play on a one-year deal worth a minimum of $26.2 million or request a trade. Other wide receivers scheduled to become unrestricted free agents include Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs, and Chris Godwin. The soon-to-be 29-year-old Godwin is the youngest of the bunch, but coming off a dislocated ankle suffered in Week 7 last season. Premier wide receivers rarely hit free agency. New England’s poor draft history at the position, coupled with the franchise’s decline in recent years, has now put the Patriots in a situation where they may have to overpay lesser talent to rectify previous personnel mistakes. The 26-year-old Higgins is the best of the bunch, but, if he does become available, are the Patriots willing to offer him a contract with an annual value of $30-plus million? That seems unlikely, even given their salary cap space and the state of their receiver room. Pursuing a trade seems like a better — and more realistic — use of resources. Deebo Samuel and Cooper Kupp are expected to be moved, while D.K. Metcalf is another player to watch. The Patriots need to bolster their receiver room, ideally with both a reliable, productive veteran and a young star. Beyond wide receiver, the Patriots desperately need to shore up their offensive line. The team re-signed center Ben Brown and tackle Demontrey Jacobs , but the roster still lacks at least one starting-caliber tackle (two if you keep Michael Onwenu at right guard). The Patriots should commit significant resources to signing a veteran tackle. Ronnie Stanley is the best option and should be atop their list. The 30-year-old Stanley bounced back to play all 17 games in 2024 after missing time with injuries in each of the previous four seasons. There are also a couple of free agents with ties to the new coaching staff. Offensive line coach Doug Marrone was Jacksonville’s head coach when the Jaguars drafted left tackle Cam Robinson 34th overall in 2017, while Mike Vrabel worked with tackle Jedrick Wills during his season consulting for the Browns last year.
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