Bill Belichick isn’t risk-averse. But the New England Patriots coach takes calculated risks. The 2020 free agency class doesn’t present many options at receiver. The pickings are slim. The talented players come with glaring red flags.
A.J. Green? Always injured. And he’s 32.
Emmanuel Sanders? He’s 33, and is likely to have a prohibitive cost after blowing up in San Francisco’s offense.
Amari Cooper? Prone to drops, even if he gets the biggest receiver contract of the offseason.
Robby Anderson? All speed. No nuance.
There are teams that will be willing to look past these issues. There are teams that will forget about them altogether when they ink the player to an enormous contract during the offseason. But Belichick won’t. He’ll ask them to take a discount or an incentive-laden deal. The receivers probably won’t agree, especially if quarterback Tom Brady hasn’t committed to a return to the Patriots.
While New England fans and media members may spend most of the offseason calling for reinforcements at receiver, Belichick isn’t like to provide them. At least, he’s unlikely to bring in a high-profile option.
Belichick’s solution to the problem will be largely to stick with what he acquired in 2019, in part because they were acquisitions made for 2020, too. Receiver N’Keal Harry, a 2019 first-round pick, showed potential when he got opportunities, even if those chances were sparse this season. Mohamed Sanu looked overwhelmed and out of sync with the offense, but perhaps that will change when the brainy wideout gets an offseason to absorb the playbook. Receiver Julian Edelman will get healthy. There will be reason for optimism with those three players as the top wideouts.
But the Patriots will create contingency plans for injuries. They’ll also prepare for the possibility that Harry isn’t ready (again) and Sanu isn’t right for the offense (again). Those contingency plans won’t come in the form of Green, Sanders or Cooper, though — or even a trade for wideout Odell Beckham Jr., as the Cleveland Browns’ asking price is likely to be too high.
No, the Patriots will do what makes their fanbase uncomfortable. Belichick will stick to his guns with those three wideouts, which required significant investment. And then the coach will probably add a cast of high-potential, low-cost additions: Rashard Higgins, Chris Hogan, Cody Latimer, Jermaine Kearse. They don’t wow. They don’t put butts in seats. But perhaps they can earn a way into the rotation as a top-three receiver in New England. Perhaps not. But the Patriots won’t have to pay much to find out.
That has been their approach in recent seasons. This crop of wideouts doesn’t warrant the Patriots trying anything different.