Patriots Urged to Pursue Major Offseason WR Trade

The New England Patriots have been urged to pursue a major wide receiver trade this offseason.

Dec 15, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley (0) takes the field during the introduction of the players against the Cincinnati Bengals at Nissan Stadium. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots are going to need to bring in wide receiver help during the upcoming NFL offseason. Drake Maye badly needs more weapons to work with.

At the very least, the Patriots need to find a way to acquire a wideout who can be a clear-cut No. 1 within the offense. That is a must have for Maye to take the next step in 2025.

Tee Higgins has been the most talked about potential offseason target. Unfortunately, there is a good chance that Higgins will end up re-signing with the Cincinnati Bengals, but even if he hits the open market there will be a lot of teams vying for his services.

With that in mind, should New England not end up landing Higgins, who could they target?

One intriguing trade target has been brought up as a potential offseason.

Richard Louis of Chowder & Champions has suggested that the Patriots should reignite their pursuit of Calvin Ridley. He thinks that the Tennessee Titans' decision to fire general manager Ran Carthon could open the door for a potential Ridley trade.

"With Carthon no longer in charge in Tennessee, there could be movement along that roster. The Patriots would be wise to contact them and see the price tag on WR Calvin Ridley," Louis wrote.

"The need for WR1 is clear as day. Quarterback Drake Maye showed a ton of flashes as a rookie but he needs a reliable playmaker. New England's leading wide receiver, DeMario Douglas, had 621 yards this season. That's nowhere good enough, and they should call in about Ridley."

After spurning New England to sign with the Titans last offseason, trading for Ridley would make a lot of sense. The Patriots clearly loved what they saw in him and could still have interest.

During the 2024 NFL season with Tennessee, Ridley ended up playing in all 17 games. He caught 64 passes for 1,017 yards and four touchdowns.

Being able to put up that kind of production in an offense that struggled as badly as the Titans' did is impressive.

Ridley is 30 years old now. He should still have a few good years left in him, although he's not quite as young as New England would likely prefer.

Expect to hear a ton of rumors surrounding the Patriots in the coming days and weeks. They are going to look to be aggressive this offseason and pursuing a trade for Ridley could very well make sense.

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