The NFL franchise tag deadline came and went, and most of the league’s 32 teams, including the New England Patriots, opted not to use it. In total, only four players were kept from free agency in that fashion ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline.
From a Patriots perspective, this means that some high-profile options are now set to become available when the market opens next week. While the team obviously will not bring all of them in — despite around $41.3 million in cap space a 2025-like spending
spree will not be happening — the franchise tag decisions do impact how free agency will unfold.
Potential Patriots targets not getting franchise-tagged
Obviously, we could list a whole bunch of players here. That said, we are going to focus on a handful who were initially considered at least somewhat realistic candidates to be tagged by their respective teams.
WR Alec Pierce: The Colts had to decide between their starting quarterback and his most reliable receiver, and they went with Daniel Jones and the transition tag. This, in turn, sets Pierce up to test free agency for the first time in his career. If he does make it so far — which is still not a given — he should get plenty of interest: the top wideout on the market, he led the league in yards per reception in both 2024 and 2025 and overall has been on the receiving end of 157 passes for 2,934 yards and 17 touchdowns in his four NFL seasons. His explosive skillset would mesh well with Drake Maye in the Patriots offense.
C Tyler Linderbaum: With Garrett Bradbury and Jared Wilson, the Patriots have two potential starting centers under contract for 2026. However, neither of the two seems locked into a position that could be upgraded even with Bradbury coming off an adequate season. Linderbaum, the Ravens’ starting center of the last four seasons, would be such an upgrade. One of the best centers in the NFL and a three-time Pro Bowl selection, the 25-year-old is a well-rounded player with cornerstone qualities. Naturally, he will make top dollar.
ED Trey Hendrickson: Hendrickson already penned his goodbye to Cleveland, meaning that he is a strong candidate to be playing elsewhere in 2026. Could that elsewhere be Foxborough? Even at age 31 and coming off an injury-shortened season he will be a popular target for teams such as the Patriots needing to upgrade on the edge; however, his well-rounded skillset as both a pass rusher and run defender justifies that treatment. It is also why Mike Vrabel and company might consider him a more cost-effective target than, for example, trading for the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby.
ED Odafe Oweh: Oweh might not have the same star qualities as the four-time Pro Bowler Hendrickson, but make no mistake: he is a quality player in his own right. New England, of course, saw this first-hand in the wild card playoffs, when Oweh sacked Drake Maye three times and forced two fumbles. Obviously, that level of production is not something to be expected from the 27-year-old every single week, but he would add a disruptive presence to a Patriots outside linebacker group that had its ups and downs during the 2025 season.
Why this matters for the Patriots
Even after last year’s spending bonanza, the Patriots are headed toward free agency as a top-10 team in available salary cap space. This, in turn, means that players such as the four listed above are indeed options to be pursued. Will they do so, though? That’s the question, and one that will not be answered until next week.
At the moment, however, none of them getting the franchise tag can be considered good news from a New England perspective.
All four of them, after all, are proven NFL starters capable of making an instant impact should they be joining the Patriots in free agency. Again, not all of them will be brought aboard, but any one of them would upgrade their positions on the roster and thus the team overall.
In addition, top-tier free agents such as those four making it to the market has a trickle-down effect that goes beyond their presence alone. This matters in particular when it comes to the Patriots’ top free agent this year, K’Lavon Chaisson. With fellow edges Hendrickson and Oweh now set to become available, his market might have changed as well, which in turn could make a return to New England more likely.
At the end of the day, the free agency landscape will remain fluid. Tuesday was just another reminder of that.
