The Patriots’ offense has been fighting uphill for three games, and the absence of A.J. Brown has only made the climb steeper. Brown was supposed to be Drake Maye’s top target, but after leaving the Week 1 matchup against the Seahawks with a high ankle sprain, the passing game has been left to patch things together without the kind of production Brown likely would have provided.
That has put more pressure on the receivers behind him, and so far Romeo Doubs, who was signed in free agency, and Mack Hollins, who seemed to be emerging as Maye’s next top option, haven’t given the Patriots the kind of consistent help they needed. With Brown’s return still uncertain - it’s not clear whether he’ll be back as soon as Week 6 or remain sidelined longer - New England could look outside the building for another answer.
One name that fits the bill is Tyreek Hill.
Hill comes with obvious baggage, but he also brings something the Patriots’ offense badly lacks: an explosive presence who can change the game. He’s still available, and he hasn’t shown signs of slowing down despite his age. For a team trying to stabilize its passing attack, that alone makes him worth considering.
The idea gets even more interesting when you look at what the Patriots are trying to do around Maye. Right now, the offense is a mess heading into Week 4 against the Bills, with an interception-leading quarterback and a receiving group that has struggled to separate from defenders.
It’s fair to wonder how different things would look if Brown were healthy, or if Stefon Diggs and Kayshon Boutte had not been let go. Instead, the Patriots are searching for a receiver who can give Maye the kind of lift this offense clearly needs.
Hill, for all the questions that come with him, would be an instant No. 1 option. That’s part of the appeal. There’s also the possibility of pairing him with Brown later in the season, which would give the Patriots a far more dangerous duo than they have now.
Hill added a little fuel to the idea Wednesday morning when he tweeted that he was ready for some cold weather. That opens the door to a fit in New England, even if rumors have also connected him to a possible return to Kansas City, where his career began. The Chiefs would make sense, too, but the Patriots can offer something he wouldn’t necessarily get there: immediate top-dog status in a passing game that desperately needs it.
New England already missed one chance to build around Maye when it moved on from Diggs after just one year of his contract. Signing Hill would not erase that decision, but it would at least give the Patriots a shot at fixing a problem that has become impossible to ignore. If they can get past the off-field noise, it could be a move that changes the outlook for their struggling quarterback the rest of the way.
In Other News...
Patriots May Have Found A Needed Offensive Bright Spot Up Front
The Patriots 1-2 start has been defined by an offense that has struggled to generate much of anything, which makes any steady development up front worth noticing. One of the few encouraging signs came in Week 3 against Jacksonville, where Jared Wilson handled his work well and gave New England a cleaner look along the interior than it has often had through the first month.
Wilson has been working mainly at center this season, and the progress he has shown from earlier games is part of why his latest outing stood out. He did not allow a pressure or commit a penalty, and that was enough to land him on PFFs Team of the Week, a small but meaningful bright spot for a line trying to help stabilize an offense that badly needs it. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Let Another AFC East Game Slip Away For One Reason
The Patriots walked out of Buffalo with a 29-26 win in a game that had plenty of the usual AFC East friction, plus a few swings that kept it from feeling settled until the final stretch. New England got touchdowns from Romeo Doubs and Efton Chism III, while Buffalo answered with a Josh Allen strike to Keon Coleman, and the game had the kind of back-and-forth edge that has made these matchups so hard to separate in recent years.
What stood out, though, was how often the Bills were able to lean on James Cook on the ground and still never fully take control of the game. Buffalo also had chances fueled by multiple Drake Maye turnovers, but the Patriots kept finding enough offense and enough answers to leave the division rival still searching for what slipped away in another one-possession AFC East result. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Bills Matchup Just Got More Complicated In The Secondary
The early weeks of the 2026 season have already tested New Englands depth, with A.J. Brown, Mike Onwenu, Christian Barmore and Christian Gonzalez all dealing with injuries. Now the Patriots are preparing for a divisional trip to Buffalo with another familiar layer of uncertainty in the secondary, even as the Bills are navigating some issues of their own on the back end.
Buffalo cornerback Christian Benford is unlikely to play, which adds another wrinkle to a matchup that already looked like it could turn on coverage and communication. For the Patriots, a game that might have been about establishing control in the AFC East now comes with more moving parts in the defensive backfields on both sides, and that could make Sunday feel a lot less predictable than it did a week ago. [Read more 🡒]