“It was a great opportunity I felt like I couldn’t pass on.”
FOXBOROUGH — Romeo Doubs was coveted by several teams at the start of NFL free agency this week. And for good reason. The 25-year-old wideout is not only just entering his prime, but he was Green Bay’s most productive pass-catcher in 2025, reeling in 55 catches for 724 yards and six touchdowns.
Even though Doubs reportedly weighed an offer from the Washington Commanders this week, he ultimately chose to cross the t’s and dot the i’s on a four-year deal with the Patriots worth up to $80 million. Speaking to reporters at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, the soft-spoken wideout acknowledged that the chance to team up with quarterback Drake Maye stood as one of the top draws for signing in New England.
“I spoke with Drake. He’s an amazing person to be around,” Doubs said. “I love his personality, and I just love who he is as a person.”
Beyond the potential of being one of the top targets for an established MVP candidate like Maye, Doubs praised the Patriots organization “from the top down,” noting that Mike Vrabel and his staff have built a winning culture that has earned high praise across league circles.
“It was a great opportunity I felt like I couldn’t pass on,” Doubs said. “I know I’m going to be around a great group of guys. Going to be around a great young quarterback in Drake, great coaching staff in Vrabel and Josh [McDaniels].”
It remains to be seen if Doubs generates the same stats that Stefon Diggs produced in 2025 (85 catches, 1,013 yards, four touchdowns). But the former Packers wideout should be a reliable option for Maye on short and intermediate routes while also bolstering New England’s red-zone woes, having scored 18 touchdowns over the last three seasons.
“I think he can play outside, inside, he blocks, he can play Z, he can play X,” Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said of Doubs’ skillset. “He’s good on the short routes, he’s good on the deep routes, he’s good with the ball in his hands.
“He has a lot of route variance that we liked strong for the ball. There’s some things that he can improve upon that we’ll try to help him with. But overall, just the competitor, the person.”
Doubs has the entire spring and summer to build a rapport with Maye and learn McDaniels’ playbook. But Wolf was quick to note that the young receiver is already getting a head start on that preparation.
“I don’t know if you guys saw him up here, like, he was already in the playbook,” Wolf acknowledged. “He was on his iPad, learning the formations while I was trying to get him to sign his contract this morning. So, it was pretty cool.”
Doubs could be in line for a large role in New England as the top wideout currently on the depth chart. But the talented receiver also isn’t placing an added emphasis on directly replacing Diggs and the expectations that might come with his new team.
“I’ll be really honest with you, I would love to stay true to just understanding where I am and coming into a new system under our offensive coordinator,” Doubs said. “And yeah, I wouldn’t really specify that I’m gonna go in with this amount of targets or that amount of targets, because I’ve come from a place where that didn’t really mean much. I give credit, obviously, to New England welcoming me with open arms and Green Bay just based off the history and the situation that we were in while I was there.”
https://www.boston.com/sports/new-england-patriots/2026/03/12/new-england-patriots-romeo-doubs-wide-receiver-green-bay-packers-free-agency/