INDIANAPOLIS — Barely two weeks after losing the Super Bowl, the Patriots flew most of their coaching staff and front-office members to get back to work at the NFL Scouting Combine.
After speaking with several coaches, scouts, agents and executives around the league, here is everything the Herald learned about the Patriots’ plans for free agency, a star-studded trade market, the 2026 draft, and beyond:
A.J. Brown trade talks
The Patriots have explored trade talks involving Eagles star wide receiver A.J. Brown, but feel the current asking price is unserious, according to one source.
Several league sources believe Brown could nonetheless be dealt, and the return could be a step above what the Seahawks received when they traded D.K. Metcalf and a sixth-round pick to Pittsburgh last year for a second-rounder at 52nd overall and a seventh-round pick.
Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said this week that the team would be willing to trade their first-round pick in the right situation.
Acquiring Brown would address the Patriots’ chief offensive objective this offseason: adding more firepower. Brown is coming off of a 1,000-yard season with 78 catches and seven touchdowns. He would qualify as the No. 1 receiver the team has long been seeking, having topped 1,000 yards every year of his career, excluding an injury-shortened 2021 campaign.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel has maintained a relationship with Brown from their three years together in Tennessee, where Brown entered the league as a second-round pick. Brown has been public about his lifelong fandom of the Patriots in interviews and on social media. He’s due a $29 million option on Sept. 1 and another $19.4 million option in 2027, plus minimal $1.3 million salaries in each of the next two seasons.
The structure of his deal appears to be complicating talks. Trading Brown before June 1 would subtract $20 million from the Eagles’ cap because of all the dead cap hits that would accelerate onto their current books from future years. A post-June 1 trade would free up $7 million in cap space for the Eagles, but waiting until then becomes difficult for a team like the Patriots, which would need a Plan B at receiver in the event a Brown trade falls through and be well past the draft and free agency.
Maxx Crosby closer?
Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby smiles and waves to fans during an NFL football game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025 in Foxborough, Mass. (Winslow Townson/AP Images for Panini)
Are the Raiders actually willing to play ball? That is the question on the minds of Patriots’ decision-makers.
League sources don’t believe the Raiders are serious about trading Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby, so negotiations could very well drag into the draft this April. Acquiring Crosby nonetheless feels more realistic than trading for Brown at this time, per one team source, who believes a first-round pick and other lesser assets, including one of the Patriots’ two fourth-round picks, would be fair compensation. The Raiders are reportedly seeking two first-round picks and a player.
Any Crosby negotiations could be held up by how far the Patriots view themselves from returning to the Super Bowl. Vrabel and Wolf both remarked this week that the team is “building,” a sentiment team sources echoed in private. One high-ranking executive from a team that played the Patriots last year believes they must be certain they will contend again if they do pull the trigger on a Crosby deal.
Crosby, 29, would fill a major need for the Patriots as an elite edge rusher. He’s been one of the NFL’s most productive pass rushers since he entered the league, accumulating 69.5 sacks, 164 QB hits and 133 tackles for loss in seven seasons.
Stefon Diggs dilemma
New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs (8) stands on the sidelines before taking on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL Super Bowl LX game, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026 in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Doug Benc)
According to team sources, Diggs’ return to New England is no guarantee, though multiple high-ranking members of the organization believe his current contract is fair enough he could continue to play on it.
The problem, according to Patriots evaluators, is whether Diggs remains a No. 1 wide receiver.
Diggs is a declining player who disappeared against elite defenses in the playoffs after a 1,000-yard regular season. He will turn 33 in November and could resemble a No. 2 wideout next year, not to mention his outstanding legal problems facing strangulation and assault charges. But Diggs also doubled as the emotional leader of the locker room and a flag bearer for Vrabel’s culture last year, something the head coach valued greatly as he built out his new program.
Ultimately, several options remain on the table: keeping Diggs on his current contract, restructuring his deal after a renegotiation or parting ways via a release or trade. Cutting ties with Diggs would create a roster hole they cannot fill in free agency and are unlikely to solve in the draft, something the Patriots are mindful of as they weigh their options and a possible restructure.
Diggs’ base salary next season is $20.6 million, and only $1.7 million is guaranteed through March 13, when he will be guaranteed another $6 million if he remains on the roster. His $26.5 million cap hit feels heavy for an aging receiver, though the Patriots are among the league leaders in cap space and do not expect to splurge this offseason.
While most outside league sources cast doubt on Diggs’ return this week, including some familiar with the Patriots’ thinking, there is stronger belief internally he will be back.
Free agency
Last year, the Patriots handed out $364 million in free-agent contracts and nearly $175 million guaranteed at signing.
Don’t expect them to come close to matching those numbers this spring.
Multiple team sources believe there are no game-changers in free agency. The Patriots are nonetheless aware they have significant needs, and their free-agent list, sources said, starts with a few edge defenders.
New England Patriots linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson (44) looks to get past Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Charles Cross (67) during Super Bowl LX, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)
Expect the front office to pursue pass rushers a step below Bengals star Trey Hendrickson, Eagles defensive end Jaelan Phillips and Ravens outside linebacker Odafe Oweh, and especially if they can’t re-sign K’Lavon Chaisson after a breakout season. Chaisson, league sources projected, could land between $10 and $12 million per year, if not more. The Patriots view Chaisson in a similar group as Seahawks edge rusher Boye Mafe and Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai, among others.
Hendrickson, Phillips and Oweh appeal to the Patriots — particularly Phillips — but the front office is prepared to be priced out in what’s expected to be a red-hot edge rusher market. Therefore, it’s likely the Patriots double dip with another, cheaper option like Titans-turned-Ravens defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones or ex-Packers draft pick Kingsley Enagbare. Both players drew interest from the Patriots at the trade deadline, though talks involving Jones were never serious, according to a source.
Like edge rusher, the Patriots view safety as a deep position in this year’s free-agent class, which includes their own Jaylinn Hawkins. His market, per sources, has been unexpectedly cool for a player who had four interceptions and 1.5 sacks over 15 starts last season. One AFC team doesn’t even view Hawkins as a starting-caliber player, and that ultimately could lead to a reunion in New England, where both sides have interest in a new deal.
If Hawkins leaves, Chiefs safety Bryan Cook, Rams veteran Kamren Curl and Seahawks up-and-comer Coby Bryant are the names to know. The Patriots have a clear type at safety under Vrabel and safeties coach Scott Booker, who prefer smaller, rangier players that can cover, tackle and communicate well. Gone are the days of hulking box safeties like Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers, which should rule out Bears safety Jaquan Brisker from consideration.
The Patriots are also at risk of losing Khyiris Tonga in a depressed defensive tackle market. As first reported by MassLive, the front office nearly inked Tonga to an extension last December only to have talks fall apart near the finish line. Tonga’s price has only risen since, according to sources around the league who project he will have more suitors than expected.
New England Patriots defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga (95) chases down Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson during the fourth quarter of a game at Gillette Stadium. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
On offense, one league source believes the Patriots will sign a Y (blocking) tight end and draft an F (receiving) tight end, given the availability of both types of players in free agency. Behind Hunter Henry, No. 2 option Austin Hooper will hit the open market again after a middling season. If Hooper leaves, don’t expect the Ravens’ Isaiah Likely or the Titans’ Chigoziem Okonkwo to replace him. Players like Cade Otton (Tampa Bay) and Charlie Kolar (Baltimore) are viewed as better fits, according to a team source.
Though the Patriots need receiver help, 5-foot-8 Giants wideout Wan’Dale Robinson is not in consideration due to his size, per team sources. The best available receiver, Alec Pierce, is also widely expected to be retained by the Colts. The Pats have also kicked the tires on lower-level running backs and have interest in retaining backup left tackle Vederian Lowe, according to league sources.
Barmore’s future
As speculation rose around the combine that the Patriots will part with Christian Barmore, team sources stayed grounded.
High-ranking members of the organization expect Barmore to remain in New England, barring something unexpected.
For starters, the Patriots have few options to replace the 26-year-old defensive tackle, particularly if Tonga walks. Team sources are not high on the defensive tackles available in this year’s draft or free agency class. Barmore has nonetheless given the team several reasons to at least consider a divorce.
There’s his sporadic production, health issues (including a knee injury the team manages), criminal charges following an alleged domestic incident involving his one-time girlfriend and $17 million cap hit. Sources also cited maturity issues, with one euphemizing his attitude by saying: “He’s always been an emotional guy.”
Like Diggs, the deadline for a decision is March 13, when the remaining $10 million of his $12 million salary will be guaranteed. If the Patriots choose to explore the trade market, two AFC executives believe they could land what amounts to a late-round pick for Barmore.
One estimated the team could land a sixth-rounder straight up, while the other said Barmore would fetch a fourth-round selection in a pick-swap trade where the Patriots also send a sixth- or seventh-rounder to his new team.
NFLPA report card
BOSTON, MA: April 2, 2020: The New England Patriots plane arrives at Boston Logan Airport carrying critically needed personal protective equipment from China in Boston, Massachusetts.(Staff photo by Nicolaus Czarnecki/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
For a second straight year, the Patriots received an “F” for travel on their NFLPA report card.
Players cited multi-year issues with the team plane, including a lack of WiFi and insufficient space, with one describing it as feeling “borderline unsafe.” That player isn’t alone.
Current staffers describe a sense of unease whenever they land for road games. No incidents have ever been reported, but one former member of the organization was unsurprised at the team’s unhappiness, comparing his experience with the plane to opening the door of a modern luxury car only to find amenities and seats inside that belong in a 40-year-old sedan. Other team sources said they actually feel relief when traveling internationally because they must take another plane.
One team source objected to grades levied against the position coaches, who received a “B-,” good for 28th in the league. Players completed the survey midseason, before the Patriots came together for a Super Bowl run.
Extra points
Christian Gonzalez’s contract extension remains only a matter of time, per sources. One front-office member suggested Gonzalez and Drake Maye are the only truly safe players on the Patriots’ roster, underscoring the team’s desire to keep the star cornerback. The timing of Gonzalez’s deal will depend on the team’s other transactions and outgoing cash flow, including money owed to free agents they signed last year. … The Patriots are happy that the strengths of this draft class, specifically edge rusher and tight end, have aligned with their needs. Ohio State’s Will Kacmarek is regarded as one of the top “Y” tight ends, and Stanford’s Sam Roush also fits that profile … Veteran right guard Mike Onwenu is expected to remain with the team, despite carrying a $25 cap hit with zero guaranteed money in his $16 million base salary. … A source confirmed NFL Network reporting that Mack Hollins suffered a lacerated spleen during the Patriots’ Week 16 win at Baltimore and added one startling detail: Hollins hurt himself on the first play of the game. He finished with seven catches for 69 yards. He actually wanted to avoid injured reserve and felt he could play through the ailment. … One team evaluator hoped to upgrade the fullback position midseason, which could open the door to a free-agent addition like Patrick Ricard (Baltimore) or Reggie Gilliam (Buffalo).
