The New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans could all be battling over the same free agent next week.
According to Essentially Sports’ Tony Pauline, all three teams are interested in wide receiver Alec Pierce, who Pauline is hearing could land a deal that pays him around $27 million per year.
“I reported just before the Combine that the Las Vegas Raiders and Tennessee Titans are two teams ready to make a bid for Pierce. In the past few hours, I also learned the New England Patriots are hot for Pierce and are expected to make a big push for the wideout,” Pauline reported.
While the Indianapolis Colts want to keep Pierce, the two sides have not been able to hammer out a long-term deal as of yet. Indy reportedly wanted to use the tag on Pierce, but they were forced to use it on Daniel Jones instead.
Making it more likely Pierce hits free agency, he recently told Kay Adams that he believes he’s earned the right to test the market.
“At this point now, I love Indy. I’ve loved playing there,” Pierce said to Adams. “Great organization, great people in the city. Just a ton of support. I know we haven’t been as good as we could be and I know we can be.”
“But at this point, I’ve kind of earned the right to explore free agency, see what’s out there and just make a decision that’s best for my career and my family,” he added.
It certainly makes sense for Pierce to test the open market, as he’s expected to do very well as arguably the best wide receiver available.
Pierce came into his own last season, tallying 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. He also notched six touchdowns and led the league in yards per reception, which was the second-straight year he did so.
There is no doubt that Pierce is one of the best big-play wideouts in the league.
The Patriots had a need at wide receiver entering the offseason, but that need became more dire with the team set to release Stefon Diggs.
The Raiders likely have a new franchise quarterback coming in with Fernando Mendoza, but Las Vegas’ wide receivers rooms is one of the worst in the NFL.
Tre Tucker is the most proven receiver in the group but has never topped 700 yards in any season and is really a No. 3 option. Along with Tucker, the Raiders have unproven 2025 draft picks Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton.
In Tennessee, the Titans have a decent No. 1 option in Calvin Ridley, but he’s not getting any younger and is coming off an injury-shortened season. Behind Ridley, Tennessee has a lot of inexperience.
All three teams have good to great cap space situations, so we could see quite the bidding war, especially if even more teams get involved, which is expected.
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