Calvin Ridley, Jacoby Brissett reportedly Patriots' top targets to start free agency

BOSTON -- The "legal tampering window" opens at noon on Monday in the NFL. For all intents and purposes, it marks the actual start of free agency ... even though some not-entirely-kinda-sorta-legal tampering may have already occurred. 

For the Patriots, it represents a significant pivot point for the franchise. Coming off a 4-13 season and moving on from the legendary Bill Belichick, there's sure to be some serious pressure to lay the seeds for a proper turnaround in year one for Jerod Mayo and Eliot Wolf.

And while the re-signing of Kendrick Bourne -- a quality team player who didn't create a disruption when wrongfully benched in 2022 and came back even better in 2023 before suffering a knee injury -- is a quality first step, they'll need to make some smart and impactful moves while signing outside free agents.

In that quest, the names of Calvin Ridley and Jacoby Brissett have come up quite a bit. And The Athletic's Chad Graff added to that chorus on Monday morning.

"Calvin Ridley will be one of the Patriots' top priorities today," Graff tweeted, adding that "the Patriots want to make a splash today and that could start with Ridley."

Graff also said that the Patriots' interest in Brissett "is real."

Ridley may not represent a "true No. 1" receiver, but he's coming off a 76-reception, 1,016-yard, eight-touchdown season with Jacksonville after missing an entire season due to a gambling suspension. He had missed the bulk of the 2021 season while addressing his mental health, too. 

Prior to that, Ridley had his best season in 2020, catching 90 passes for 1,374 yards with nine touchdowns. As a rookie in 2018, Ridley caught 10 touchdowns.

While the Patriots may still have a roster glut of sorts in the form of JuJu Smith-Schuster and DeVante Parker, the reports that they're prioritizing wide receiver in free agency indicates that they may be willing to move on from one or both of those veterans on the roster. (Doing so would incur some hefty dead cap money, but the Patriots do have the room to deal with that this year.)

Brissett, meanwhile, would represent a much less exciting but ultimately pragmatic move. The veteran quarterback has served in a variety of roles during his eight-year career, which began in New England. He's started 48 games (30 for Indianapolis, 11 for Cleveland, five for Miami, two for New England), he's been a backup, he's been a spot starter, he's been a QB sneak specialist, and perhaps most importantly, he's been a good teammate. Whatever his many coaches have asked of him, he's done.

And with the Patriots most likely taking a rookie quarterback at No. 3 in the draft next month, Brissett represents a player who can start games until or if that rookie is ready to take the reins. And if that rookie is ready to start in Week 1, Brissett won't be a disruption in the locker room.

The latest reporting indicates that the Patriots will be following an expected route. It likely won't take too much time once noon hits to discover how successful they were on their quest.