Drake Maye has a new wide receiving target.
The New England Patriots reportedly agreed to a four-year, $70 million deal with veteran free agent wide receiver Romeo Doubs on Tuesday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. It was a much-needed move that decreased the Patriots’ desperation in the ongoing A.J. Brown sweepstakes.
That doesn’t mean the team is bowing out of those negotiations with the Philadelphia Eagles. At the very least, they’ve positioned themselves to go a different route if the Brown trade attempt falls through. Doubs is a talented veteran player with real upside and a legitimate fit for the Patriots’ offense.
What does the deal look like?
Doubs is slated to earn around $17.5 million annually on his four-year, $70 million deal with the Patriots. It puts him on par with Wan’Dale Robinson and Jerry Jeudy, while costing less than Jakobi Meyers and what Stefon Diggs was earning.
Grade: B-
It’s no secret that the Patriots needed a true No. 1 receiver in free agency. That kind of player obviously isn’t Doubs, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a good pick-up by the Patriots.
The upside can’t be ignored with Doubs coming off the best season of his NFL career. He finished the 2025 season with only 55 catches for 724 yards and six touchdowns. His best performance came in a losing effort during the Green Bay Packers’ run-in with the Chicago Bears in the wild-card round of the playoffs. The veteran wide receiver torched the Bears with eight receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown.
He is a solid playmaker on short to intermediate routes with the ability to make plays after the catch. His speed also makes him a dangerous man-beater capable of getting behind the defense. Most importantly, he is only 25 years old with plenty of room to grow. The hope is for him to give the Patriots some of what they lost with Stefon Diggs leaving.
They’d still be better off pairing him with a No. 1 receiver, and that is probably still the plan. But this is a great move for now.
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Grading Patriots signing of WR Romeo Doubs in free agency
