The Patriots certainly have the cap room to meet Higgins’ contract demands, with NFL rumors recently pointing to a potential cost of $30-plus million per season. However, there will be plenty of competition with teams with money to spend who can get into a bidding war with New England.

Higgins could re-sign with Cincinnati, staying in a situation he knows he can thrive in while competing with an AFC contender. The Bengals already have more than $46 million in cap space and can easily clear more with a few cap casualties and a Joe Burrow contract restructure.

Outside of Cincinnati, the Washington Commanders could provide Higgins with quarterback Jayden Daniels and use a portion of its $78 million in cap space to land him. Likewise, the Los Angeles Chargers have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and more than $60 million in cap space.

Even the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos have both the cap space, quarterback and roster to offer Higgins a chance to get paid and compete immediately. While the Patriots have the most cap space and a franchise-caliber quarterback in Drake Maye, they likely won’t be contending in 2025. If the contract offers are close, that could push Higgins to one of the more competitive teams.